


No One Gets a Break- Ever

by Beitym, BurningMattress



Category: DanPlan, The Purge (Movies), youtube - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Hallucinations, M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Character(s), Original Characters - Freeform, Psychological Torture, Slow Burn, it's basically the concept of them in the purge, no really it's the slowest of burns even I'm dying, rewriting chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2019-11-07 22:46:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 31,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17969486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beitym/pseuds/Beitym, https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurningMattress/pseuds/BurningMattress
Summary: “It’s okay. Homosexual relationships don’t disturb me at all- I mean, I had a gay friend once. He ended up dying, but you get the point.”“I wasn’t saying- wait what?!”“I mean- your ponytail kind of gave it away, too. And the way you speak as well, ‘Oh no! Killing is bad, and you shouldneverdo it, ever.’ Wha- your gay lover is in trouble? Better put on my shiningfuckingarmor.”“I said, I’mnot-”Or, the time when Hosuh locks himself in the closet, and then gets fuckingtorturedfor three chapters straight. Not a good time.- - - -Previously titled The Purge, but on All the Drugs  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)   (we can't decide on titles)





	1. Chapter 1  No Rest for the Wicked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hosuh wants out of this whole Purge but it keeps dragging him in, he'll make unlikely allies and escape death.. he's been lucky this far.

Hosuh couldn't control his breathing, and the small closet wasn’t exactly cutting it. The cramped position wasn’t helping either, but that was thanks to the mess that he never bothered to organize- which would normally be a huge shame on him- was actually proving to suddenly be his only line of defense against a sudden case of acute death. The thin slits of light filtering through the closet door, illuminating the bright colors of unused clothing, also provided a window to peek through his bedroom door and into the brightly lit parlor. Footsteps were heard stalking the apartment, which was all the encouragement needed before he squeezed his body in between storage boxes while layering what skin and hair was exposed with scattered clothes and shoes- effectively disguising himself among the dusty boxes of antiques. 

Why was this happening to him? He had been cautious as he’d always been on the night of the Purge. It’s not that Hosuh wanted others to be in his situation, but he also didn’t want himself in it either. His mind raced, recounting every detail that led to his predicament- which did not help him in this high-stress situation in the slightest. Did he leave a certain light on? Or was he making noise that someone happened to notice? There were too many factors to consider, but the one thing he knows is that he shouldn’t have opened the door.

He locked everything down- windows, doors, and anything that had a lock, which was standard procedure he’s grown used to during this annual _holiday_. He wasn’t taking any chances.

He had heard a knock pounding at the door when he was busy forcing himself to relax under his bed, accompanied by a wall of pillows and blankets that sealed him off from the rest of his bedroom while we kept himself awake with his phone. He didn’t dare move, but then the stranger began begging to be let in, saying that they knocked on other doors but no one answered, that they needed help. The voice sounded masculine with a frightened pitch, alluding to someone young and helpless. Hosuh’s empathetic nature started working against him, and he found himself leaving his fortress of comfort to walk through his pitch black apartment, and approach his front door. He couldn’t leave someone who was literally begging to be saved.

He turned on the parlor lights as he walked by, momentarily blinding him, and the stranger seemed to have noticed the light leaking through the doors because the shouting abruptly stopped. _That should have been the first sign._

He slowly peeked out his cracked door, and there was no helpless teenager immediately on the doorstep to greet him like he expected, but a wall stained with the light emanating behind him, mirroring his shape in the shadows. With his head remaining within the confines of his apartment, he could look left and right to see the hallway of adjacent doors and old green carpet, but no trace of anyone standing in front of this door just a few seconds ago. Hosuh’s stomach dropped, knowing that he’d have to physically stick his head around the corner of the door frame in order to see the entire expanse of the hallway, exposing himself to anyone who could be right around that corner, pressed up against the wall to avoid his detection. 

Remembering this now while his life flashed before his eyes, he didn’t know how he never saw the obvious signs that screamed danger- hell, he even knew the risk he was taking when he peeked around the corner. And he _still_ made the conscious decision to fit his head through the doorframe and take a peep, which rewarded some interesting consequences.

A dark figure swiftly moved from Hosuh’s blind spot, and a bright white mask suddenly filled his vision, causing him to leap backwards and land on his ass in an attempt to put as much distance between him and the intruder.

 _No No No!_ Hosuh couldn’t register anything else other than the intrinsic need to live, but he dumbfoundedly sat on his elbows in a moment of shock as the man slowly stalked through the apartment entrance. During Hosuh’s moment of stupor, he managed to get a good look at the masked man. He wore a generic black hoodie, with pants and shoes to match, but to contrast his clothing, the mask was white with a skull print. He held a pair of dual daggers that looked like they could be framed on a wall for their intricate design rather than handled for practical use. He slowly approached Hosuh’s supine form- the infinitely deep eye sockets boring into his soul. 

Hosuh finally snapped out of his shocked daze and started scrambling to get on his feet to flee the parlor, and run through his small apartment. His socks we not aiding him in the pursuit, since he nearly slid and crashed into the kitchen island while weaving through the misplaced barstools thanks to the hardwood floors. After surviving the trip through the mini living room into his bedroom, he paused in his tracks and looked around his dim room for somewhere- _anywhere_ to hide. He eyes landed on his closet- not wasting another moment to think about his choices before he clambered inside and hastily slid the bifold doors closed. 

He was hiding in the closet in his own apartment, trying to make himself stop breathing in his little pile of the random clutter- but would it really be enough? Would hiding in the most obvious of places get him out of what he had basically caused to _himself_. He regretted it now, but what was the point of that. Screw his benignant and compassionate nature.

Maybe none of this was happening… Maybe this is all just some horrible nightmare that was spawned from lack of sleep, that his mind made so horrifically vivid- well, he wanted out now. He shook his head, pinched himself, and told himself that when he wakes tomorrow- it’ll all be in his head. He would be able to laugh it off with his peers in class, and forget about it the same day. But he didn’t wake up though. His aches didn’t suddenly go away. His heart rate was certainly not going down anytime soon. He was _awake_ , and he was living in this nightmare.

Hosuh held his breath as he tried listening to where the man was going inside his apartment, but the only thing he could hear was his heart running a marathon in his chest. He was so scared that the rhythmic pounding would bring the man right to where he was hidden. What if this maniac already knew exactly where he was? What if he was just waiting for him right outside the closet door. The thought sent a chill down his spine, and he gently shifted the knit sweater from obstructing his vision, allowing him to see through the slits of the closet door and peer into his dark bedroom. 

His apartment was too quiet, especially knowing that someone was in it. He tried listening again and heard footsteps in the hallway. He was opening every door in his flat, and Hosuh’s stomach sunk lower as the countdown rang through the walls, but he tried holding onto any hope he had left- _Maybe I’ll be a convincing pile of clothes. Maybe he won’t check here. Maybe he’ll leave and not wait up for someone he can’t find._

Hosuh continued feeding into his delusions to the point where he distracted himself from what was reality, and he was able to ignore the discomfort he felt in staying in a restricted position, but he couldn’t tell how much time had passed- five minutes, twenty minutes, thirty seconds? 

In his clouded thoughts, he remembered that there was a chance he would never see a sunrise ever again. Though the thought was asinine, he couldn’t help being sentimental- even during something like this.

Hosuh was yanked out of his thoughts by a heavy dose of adrenalin when he heard an exasperated sigh from just outside the closet. He squinted through the horizontal slats, and saw the dark silhouette of the guy was lounging on his bed that was a few feet away from the closet, allowing Hosuh a full frontal view of his disturbing figure, “Seriously, I know you’re in there, just come out and get this over with,” he laid back, draping his arms across the comforter. 

He sounded so bored, trying to kill someone who’s hiding in the closet. It’s as if he’s been in this scenario so many times that he knows every outcome- like watching a movie for the 20th time, and the ending is always the same. 

Though despite everything, Hosuh made sure he made no noise. Even as he choked and felt some tears stream down his face, he did not dare make a sound.

“Okay, whatever, fine…” He rolled off the bed, stretching his arms above his head as he walked to the closet, “I’m giving you the option to die standing- take it or leave it.” A tense silence builds for a moment as he stood right outside the door, but then the closet was instantly opened. There was a sharp rip and a thundering crunch above Hosuh’s head, followed by confusion for both parties.

The prominent smell of drywall wafted down and underneath Hosuh’s camouflage, along with small bits of rubble landing between him and his knife-wielding assailant. 

The closet was piled up everywhere with unfolded sheets, clothing and boxes full of stuff Hosuh couldn’t bear throw away. For once, Hosuh was glad for how much of a mess his closet was.

The man began to rifle through some of the clothing, hitting a box, which was only one kick away from finding him. Hosuh held his breath again and dared not move.

“I couldn’t have picked the wrong room,” the man muttered while taking a step back to survey the disheveled piles, “I mean, where else could he have gone?!” His voice rippled with frustration. 

And through the chaos happening inches from his face, Hosuh managed to hear loud footsteps running through the flat- it couldn’t have been this man, there must be another one! Please, no… 

“Shit!” Was all Hosuh heard before the guy suddenly began burrowing in the pile of clothing haphazardly gathered in the corner of the closet to Hosuh’s right. He felt another chill go down his spine just thinking about how this person was just about to kill him, and could possibly still do so if he happened to find a rather human-shaped box. 

This new person entered his bedroom room. Their steps were heavy, probably to intimidate whoever was inside the room, and as if deeming the room vacant without checking the obvious hiding places, they turned on their heel and continued walking throughout the apartment.

He began speaking in the living room, which is just about the center of Hosuh’s apartment, and also providing Hosuh a relatively clear view through his ajar bedroom door, “Look, I know you’re here- all signs pointed to it. You know why _I’m_ here. I can’t have you roaming about hurting people,” this one sounded gentle, but that is in no way a valid reason to trust him, “I don’t want to kill you, but I will if we can’t do this peacefully.”

Next to Hosuh, a chuckle emitted, “Liar.” 

He didn’t get it- was the masked one the top dog in this part of town, or was the new guy specifically against him because of some past feud? 

“Look, I know the guy who lives here- he’s a good egg. Please don’t tell me you…” He trailed off before collecting himself, “Come with me and you can let this all out… in better ways,” he persuaded.

Hosuh now listened intensely, trying to piece this all together. What did this guy mean that he knew him? Was he a neighbor? He tried to recall anyone with that voice, but just like the first one hiding a few feet away from him, it was unrecognizable. He’s simply never met either of them outside this nerve-wracking fiasco, so he couldn’t figure a reason why he was targeted specifically.

Trouble was something that he avoided like the plague in most situations, and in the few that forced his hand, he doesn’t remember angering anyone like these people to the point that they have a vendetta against him. But now, this new trespasser is preaching to the masked one like a gentle parent trying to convince her child to get off the monkey bars because it’s dusk and she needs to prepare dinner. _And a bratty child at that._

Meanwhile, the man next to him was moving around, presumably to get more comfortable, but in the process his elbow bumped Hosuh.

Hosuh made the mistake of letting out a squeak of surprise.

Dead silence.

“I knew it,” the man beside him rasped out, then quickly whispered, “If you think that dude is gonna play your knight in shining armor, then you’re in for far worse than what I was going to do to you.”

Hosuh’s eyes widened at the remark- taking it to heart, but he tried the same technique that saved him before: silence. What he wanted to do was scoff at the comment- as if he’d trust a different guy who broke into his home. And besides, just because this other guy claimed to know him doesn’t mean anything. Though the concept that this guy who was trying to kill him a minutes ago was _now_ giving advice on _how not to die_ ; it didn’t sit well with Hosuh’s addled mind.

The steps of the other moved around the kitchen steadily. Hosuh heard the fridge open, “Sorry, Hosuh- nothing’s opened tonight and running around is really tiring…” the shuffling of Tupperware echoed through the walls, "And I’m taking your leftovers, sorry.”

Hosuh felt his heart sink. Not for his leftovers- though that was supposed to be tomorrow’s lunch, but it was with how this other guy said his name correctly and casually that frightened him. _How does he know my name?!_ Hosuh’s mind shouted to himself. _I don’t even know this person!_

“He wants you to come out so he can take you. Don’t be stupid,” the voice next to him curtly pointed out.

Hosuh felt like this was obvious, but the more he said it, the more he wanted to doubt it. Why would he want to save him if he was already trying to kill him? To have the kill for himself? Or maybe to stop him from getting help… But was Hosuh really willing to take that risk, the guy next to him did say he’d have a worse fate if he did. And he was hiding next to him right now! What must that say about the guy out there _in my kitchen…_

“I’m not leaving until you come out, and eventually you will- you hate missing a night. Every year you’re out for this _holiday_. You even took on the persona of ‘The Necromancer’, quite popular too,” the voice stopped for a bit and Hosuh assumed it was because he was taking a bite of _his_ lunch- he could still hear the crinkling plastic, “What I don’t understand is why? You could be like- not committing homicide. You could save people and still get your pent up urges out for the night.” Another pause, “I was serious when I said I don’t want to kill you, I want you to join me. Please- as a team.” 

“The Necromancer” groaned, “This guy, every year, hunts me down. I’m sick of waiting. Let’s see if he’s being honest if we come out.”

“We?!” Hosuh whisper-shouted, and then immediately felt like an idiot for giving himself away _twice_.

But the guy next to him was less than surprised, “How else? If I don’t bring you, then I don’t have an offering- I mean, proof that you’re alive. And what else are you going to do, anyway?”

Hosuh considered this, what _was_ he going to do? He could continue ignoring the fact that these two strangers are looking to murder him one way or another tonight and die in his closet alone, or go along with the masked one and test his façade of indifference in the face of death. But after another moment of contemplation, he decided that following the Necromancer would yield the best odds, “Okay…”

“Alright. Hosuh, was it?” He heard a shuffle, and then the voice suddenly resounded from directly above him, ”I’m standing. If you don’t stand too, I swear, I will drag you out. One… Two… Three.” Hosuh hesitantly straightened from his makeshift camouflage, head narrowly missing the clothing rack, which wasn’t a problem for the guy beside him since he was already half-way through the bifold doors, but he still waited on the precipice, staring at his hunched form.

Hosuh took in more detail this time of _the Necromancer_ \- his purple mohawk somehow stood out against the small slits of light filtering through the closet doors. It took another look to see that the skeleton-print mask was also scratched in multiple places, “Look, it’s a tradition for the year, gotta have consistency, otherwise who’s gonna remember. And what’s with _your_ hair anyways? Grey? Who dyes their hair grey?”

Hosuh opened his mouth to reply, but didn’t really have anything to say, and that didn’t seem to matter, since the other guy in the kitchen must have heard the masked one’s barely concealed voice and practically barreled towards his bedroom, each footfall shaking the floor, “Necromancer- Hosuh! You’re alive?!” The man let out a breath of relief. He was in a navy blue leather jacket and had a blank white mask. The only thing on it being two dots that represented eyes and a crude line that must have aimed to be a smile. _I guess identities are taken more seriously than I’d have thought._

The Necromancer wasted no time to get to the point, “So join you or die was the offer, if I’m not mistaken?” 

It wasn’t a question but the other man in the strange, almost blank white mask responded indifferently, “Join me in helping others or I will have to take care of you.” 

“By killing me, yes- I just said that,” the Necromancer crossed his arms.

The man opted to not answer the Necromancer, “Hosuh?” He flinched at his own name, “I can’t leave you here, this whole building is marked now that _he’s_ been here,” the man glared at The Necromancer, crossing his arms disapprovingly- further solidifying the parent analogy. 

He held his hands up, Hosuh can see a slight twitch of his exposed cheekbones, alluding to a smile behind his mask “Like I have control of that.” 

“Actually you do. You’re the one who graffitis the walls of any building you visit and people seem to follow- no survivors. Don’t play dumb, I know you do it on purpose.” _Wait, he did what to my building?!_

The Necromancer looked like he rolled his eyes, “Wow, can’t a guy just express art over some walls?” 

“Your ‘art’ isn’t art. You do it because people know your symbol and follow it. People die every year because of you!”

And just like that the room was silent while they glared at each other with Hosuh stuck in the middle. Hosuh didn’t dare move, lest he feel the wrath of either of them.

Finally, the Necromancer looked towards Hosuh, pausing before speedily approaching the bedroom door, intending to leave his flat, “I’ll wait while you give him the rundown of what to do to ‘not die,’ I guess.”

“No you’re not- you’re sitting here and not bolting out the second I can’t see you.”

The Necromancer waved his arm out from the doorway, “We’re wasting time- the sun always comes out faster than you think,” he idly wanders towards the kitchen, “I mean, you know what they say: ‘time flies when you’re having fun,’ am I right?” 

_Fun? This guy calls this night “fun”?_

White-mask man quickly followed the Necromancer, leaving Hosuh in the bedroom to contemplate the window as a plausible escape route while living on the fourth story, “Then stand here so I can finish this.” 

Hosuh hesitantly peeked around the corner, observing the transactions taking place in his kitchen. _There isn’t any shrubbery to break my fall on that way down…_

The Necromancer shrugged and stood about five feet away from Blank-mask, leaning against the refrigerator in the kitchen nook. 

“Alright listen, Hosuh, I know you’re scared and would rather stay here but it’s not safe to stay anymore…” The entire time these people were talking, Hosuh’s mind incessantly repeated the same mantra: _it could be a trap, it could be a trap- don’t listen to them, they’re insane._

The Necromancer said he would make Hosuh an offering, or maybe it was all a set-up to get him to follow them to who-knows where, “I know that the last thing you want to do is leave your apartment but please- come with me and I can get you to a group of survivors.”

 _No way!_ Hosuh’s common sense screamed at him. _Follow these two and die?_

“I bet if you said they have free pizza, he’d totally follow along with whatever bullshit you’re pulling. I mean, look at this tiny apartment- he’s probably still living out of his parent’s wallet,” the Necromancer snickered. 

_Okay. Ouch._

Hosuh couldn’t answer. Probably the feeling that anything he said could be the wrong choice to make and would potentially be his death wasn’t really a fun thought.

“You see how it’s too easy, right? Anyone with a lick of common sense wouldn’t follow you willingly,” The Necromancer said while searching the cabinets for snacks. Blank Mask guy stayed still and silent during that exchange, waiting patiently for a response from Hosuh.

It is too convenient… It’s all a ruse. It has to be. There’s literally no where else to go, if I apparently have a target painted on my apartment building. The other options proposed both seem just as suspicious. Considering the circumstances, it really wasn’t going to be a good night for Hosuh. 

He stared at his feet- there really wasn’t a good outcome for him. He’d just be kidnapped tonight if he didn’t go along- probably be tortured. He could be hunted for sport- he heard that some people do that during the Purge. But if he did no go, surely he would be dragged or maybe lose a finger or two if he doesn’t just go willingly. Perhaps staying on their good side was the way to go.

Hosuh sucked in a breath and looked back up, they were both staring at him, “I don’t know who you are… either of you… and you’re here now. So if you’re going to torture me, please… just kill me now,” Hosuh begged. He reasoned that he wouldn’t survive- he hated that but he tried to accept it, “Please, make it fast.” And he closed his eyes, bracing for impact against the door frame, but he heard no movement from either of the intruders come towards him.

“My name is James, and I didn’t come here to harm you- well, maybe him,” very obviously alluding to the Necromancer, “but not me. I go out on this night to recuse folks much like you, who don’t want a part in the day but don’t have much of a choice, I try to give them another year. So, please come with me and live to see another one.” 

Hosuh reluctantly open his eyes, and he can see the Necromancer slouching on one of the island’s bar seats, one arm supporting his head against the table, while the other cradles a dagger to his abdomen. The skull-print mask’s large, dark eye sockets appear larger and endless in this light- or rather lack thereof courtesy to his incandescent parlor light, sending a shiver down Hosuh’s spine under the scrutiny of his stare. 

“I don’t have a choice, do I?”

The Necromancer laughed, rocking his body into a sudden motion, “Choice?! The choice you have is the same as the one I made to stand up in that closet.”

_Oh, so go with them to possibly die, or stay and die._

Hosuh took in a deep breath, “Okay, I’ll… I’ll go with you.” _Not like I could do anything else…_

He couldn’t really tell, but it seemed like James smiled a that- whether that was something to be concerned about was for Hosuh to worry about later.

“Grab a jacket and good running shoes.” 

 

****

 

The unlikely trio traveled down the stairs while James explained, mildly, how it worked on the streets on this night, “It’ll go smoothly- we just need to go a few blocks without anyone seeing us, which can be pretty easy.”

“Unless we run into a grieving child,” shrugged the Necromancer. 

“A what?” stuttered Hosuh. _That doesn’t sound like a very good thing… at least it can’t be when it’s coming from the Necromancer._

James shut down the question quickly as they rounded the last of the green carpeted stairs and landed on the first floor, further confirming Hosuh’s suspicions, “Wow, hey look! The door…” He chuckled awkwardly, “Such a long flight of stairs, thought it’d be morning before we got here. Alright, I’m going to slowly open the door and we’re going through. No talking.” Hosuh peeked through the front windows, which featured blinding streetlights and a relatively empty sidewalk. Too soon, James steadily opened the door and they got through with no problems. Even got a couple of blocks with no problems.

Somewhere ahead of them in the street, a young woman cried out, “Help me! Please! Someone?! Its anyone there?!” 

“Everyone bend down,” breathed James, and all three of them instantaneously crouched behind the closest object between them and the ominous cries for help- a silver, parallel-parked car.

“Anyone!? Please, I need help!”

Hosuh was shocked, “What is she doing?!”

The Necromancer snickered, “Getting attention- specifically ours. This is ‘the grieving child’ I was talking about,” he paused, scanning for anyone and anything within their vicinity, “They’re out for themselves. If anyone goes out whether to harm or _help_ her, they’ll get jumped. I mean, seriously, would you go out in the street tonight and do this? It’s suicide. Well, it is unless you have a group protecting you.”

Hosuh felt himself go pale as he peeked through the tinted windows. Why would someone want to take advantage of a kind, good person? Someone who’s just trying to help… Yes, Hosuh is aware of dramatic irony, but _still._ What would anyone have to gain by willingly putting yourself in such a vulnerable position? Maybe she’s the real victim here, who had a gun to her head, “Is there a way to bring her with us to the shelter?”

“Wait, woah, what?!” Through his mask Hosuh could tell the Necromancer stared at him as if he just sprouted a tail.

“Maybe she doing this to just survive and she needs to be rescued!” Hosuh reasoned, but he knew it was petty- especially with the Necromancer’s attitude, _I doubt either of them would think twice about leaving her._

“Rescuing people?!”

James sighed as if he’s already explained this fifty times before, “Can’t do that without taking out her captors then.”

It didn’t matter that it was hopeless, Hosuh felt a weight on his chest, “She won’t live to see another year…”

“So? You do. You get to go on with your classes and shitty part-time jobs. You need to prioritize what matters here,” the Necromancer whisper-shouted over the desperate screams echoing through the streets. 

“Yeah I do, I don’t want to live knowing I let someone else die,” now it was Hosuh turn to look at the Necromancer with the same angry, yet confused stare.

“She is trying lure someone out to literally torture them. If you ask me, you deserve to live more than her.” _Says the guy who was chasing me through my own apartment._

“How can you say that?! I could be in her situation and be doing the same thing out of fear.”

“First, you wouldn’t. Secondly, you’re not in her situation, so not really relevant,” the Necromancer bluntly stated.

Hosuh shook his head, but opted to let his silence speak for himself.

James had them slinking in the shadows, remaining hidden behind cars parked along the sidewalk, gradually reaching their destination, “Look, we don’t have the resources to help her. If we were to try, we’d only manage to get ourselves killed and that won’t do her any favors other than giving her more grief. Let’s help those we can. Come on, we’re almost there.”

“Nothing we can do, Hosuh,” the Necromancer patted his shoulder.

Hosuh didn’t really know how to respond to it.

 

Finally, they turned to this dilapidated building across the street, where the walls looked as if they would crumble at a feather’s touch, and it was as if a black hole swallowed every morsel of light, leaving a deep cavern of decay that every instinct in Hosuh told him to keep away. If this is the safe place, at least they did something right, or they really did lead me to a torcher chamber. 

“At least they know to keep light away from windows, Hosuh,” the Necromancer pointed out.

“Huh?” 

“I could see light coming from your apartment window. Honestly, not that noticeable, but we’re talking _The Purge_ here- people are looking out for that kind of thing.”

Hosuh shuddered, it was only a matter of time then, someone would have come in and… _No, don’t think about it._

Before they could cross the street and arrive at the apparent sanctuary disguised as a dungeon, fluorescent lights suddenly surrounded them. Hosuh put his hands in front of his face to try shielding his eyes. Then a booming, female voice rang out from behind them, miming an announcer's twang, “We’ve been waiting for y’all. Finally the show has arrived!” 

They had walked right into a trap.


	2. Chapter 2  When Will You Learn-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> welp, not going as planned- really not going as dandy as hoped u_u

They had walked right into a trap.

 

The Necromancer groaned, “Not these guys-” 

“Follow the lights and we won’t immediately disembowel you! … yet,” the woman cheerfully spoke with a slight southern accent, remaining hidden behind the glaring lights, “We welcome you- the beloved Necromancer and the abhorred Renegade,” The disembodied voice echoed. Lights flickered in front of them, and one by one a path of blinding light was made that went in the other direction they needed to go. 

The Necromancer raised his hands defiantly, “Caught by them!?” Hosuh noticed that he was struggling to keep a neutral stance as they were forced to follow yet another choice of death- or maybe death, “We were so close,” he whined.

Hosuh tried to ask, “Who are these-” James shushed him before he could get anything else out.

“Pfft,” The Necromancer scoffed in James’ direction, “Silence won’t do us any good. You need to be entertaining for them to keep you. So I’ll answer you, Hosuh,” the three began walking slowly down the lit sidewalk, “These people- It doesn’t matter what stupid and dramatic name they gave themselves- they like finding captives and then battling them to the death and then they let the winner walk free,” he paused, “But not really. They’ll tell you that so you hope for freedom and give it your all, but eventually die from someone getting the best of you because you were too exhausted to get a fair fight. It’s all bullshit really. But hilariously expensive bullshit- I’ve been to their shows a few times.”

Being punched in the stomach is the best way to describe what Hosuh felt, now knowing that he’d have to participate in a human cock-fight, “How do they know _you?_ ”

“Me and James are kind of celebrities in their eyes, and they want a story. If we give them that, we live.” the Necromancer swiveled his head towards James, “Hey, Renegade!”

James glanced his way, completely done with this bullshit.

“I got a plan,” the Necromancer mumbled.

“If you get us killed, I will haunt you the rest of the afterlife.”

“Noted. Try to keep up,” They mumbled amongst themselves, but Hosuh could hear almost nothing, if he weren’t trying to listen for it then he wouldn’t have noticed. _They convince me to follow them, but then purposely disclude me in their life-saving schemes. What even-_

James nodded at one point, then they slowly parted until the Necromancer was walking besides Hosuh again, “Play along,” he muttered under his breath.

“Sorry, what?”

“Don’t worry about anything,” the Necromancer pushed his hands into his pockets, “We’re getting out. Just remember not to contradict what we say.” 

“You’re not making sense,” Hosuh almost whimpered. _It’s almost as if they plan to-_

A ear-piercing siren roared to life, drowning out Hosuh’s thoughts. The three walked, following the lights into a strange, tall building. The entrance parlour’s only light source was the spotlights that guided them here; however, with the light pointing straight at them, little could be seen of the actual room itself. 

Through squinted eyes, Hosuh could make out silhouettes of cushionless sofas arranged around coffee tables, a front desk, and two hallways leading further into the building. It was furnished like a hotel- a hotel severely lacking in fineries. A glance upward, and he could see stains in the ceiling, implying either a minimal use of this establishment, or its complete expulsion of the premises. 

Applause leached through the thin walls, and they walked down the left hall. Another stiff trek, and they found themselves taking a sharp right, and down a short flight of stairs. They were surrounded by the lights from both directions as they were ushered down the stairs. As they reached the bottom floor, whatever barrier separated them from the next room may as well not exist with the volume of cheers reaching their ears and defining them.

Hosuh stood behind them, and when they entered a pair of double doors, it was like a smaller stadium-like place, not much larger than a typical boxing arena, and the center had a large chain link fence enclosure that separated them from the audience, and reached the ceiling with no obvious exits except the opening they entered through. With no other options- they were forced to enter the brightly lit ring.

Then the same female voice returned, but much louder and with a hint of feedback, “Butchers and Slayers! We have a special show this year! This won’t be any ordinary fight. Be ready for blood and a brawl like no other! This year, we bring you ‘The Necromancer’ and his rival ‘The Renegade!’ Watch as they fight over who attacks or protects a defenseless! Place your bets!” The speakers surrounded them, being placed high in each corner of the arena.

“Wait, is she talking about me?” Hosuh perked up.

“Fighters! To the center! Ten feet apart for a fair start!”

The Necromancer twisted his body to face Hosuh, leaning in, "When the fight starts, stand behind me,” he breathed. 

Hosuh’s mind started to finally grasped the situation. He didn’t trust this guy, not really the other either but this one far less. If he was trusting anyone it would be James, not some ruthless murderer! But, he said that even by killing him and James, he wouldn’t survive that much longer anyway. _But he could be lying._ All of it was becoming too confusing.

Through his racing mind, Hosuh hesitantly stood ten feet away, forming a triangle with all three of them at each corner. Hosuh stood stock-still, quietly mumbling to himself as beads of sweat fall and stain his pajama shirt. _Oh my god- this can’t be happening. I still don’t know what the hell they’re planning to do to get us out if this mess. What if I mess everything up? What if-_

Another second, and a gunshot rang through the paper-thin walls, miming the use of a starter gun, and marking the beginning of the game.

“And that’s the beginning of the show- hope y’all are as pumped as I am!” 

James stood still and eyed them with a cold and calculative gaze while the Necromancer stared and cocked his head to the side at Hosuh pointedly. Hosuh timidly moved as instructed, using him to shield himself from James for whatever reason.

“What an interesting development! It seems the Necromancer is protecting and the Renegade attacking! Do we switch up their names for this?” The crowd laughed and cheered for someone to strike first, “You heard them, boys! Hurry up and beat the living shit out of each other!” 

There was a beat of hesitation from all three of them, but it was James who made the first move. The Necromancer reacted quickly, and reached behind himself, lifted his hoodie to reveal a special, high-waisted belt that harbors dual daggers against his back, and grabbed the handles in a practiced motion, lifting them above his head and cutting the air in an elegant performance that incited an overwhelming cheer from the audience- that’s when battle _really_ began.

James was taken aback, but he unsheathed a simple, double-edged sword unlike Necromancer’s intricate daggers, and launched forward in an attempt to strike the Necromancer. Both slashed at the other- steel striking steel, neither taking a hit. 

Hosuh cowered behind the Necromancer, watching the fight escalate with wide eyes, until James made a move towards _him_. While the Necromancer was recovering from an especially powerful blow, James suddenly began eclipsing his stunned figure, and was getting closer to Hosuh. He pulled his sword back, preparing to strike, and Hosuh fell backwards in an attempt to escape. James loomed over him, his sword in mid swing before he was knocked on his ass. It took a moment to realize that the Necromancer had kicked his legs out from underneath him, knocking him to the ground right in front of to Hosuh, deafening them with roaring cheers. 

James grunted from the impact, which was just the wake-up call Hosuh needed to snap out of his stupor and start crawling away from him and towards the Necromancer, who was walking to the other side of the arena, leaving Hosuh to stand up on shaky legs and follow.

When the Renegade didn’t seem to get up right away, the crowd started to boo, and from that point, on the fight started becoming a little less… forgiving. Once James _did_ get back on his feet, he waited patiently for the Necromancer to make the next move.

In the next moment, they were both at each other's throats- not holding anything back. Hosuh couldn’t stand it when he saw the Necromancer almost plunge a dagger into James’ eye, and he wanted to vomit when he saw the Necromancer lift his mask just enough to spit out blood from a well-aimed punch. When James raised his sword to swing down on the him, Hosuh had to look away in fear of seeing his head split open right in front of his eyes, but when he looked back, the Necromancer had held his daggers up like a shield. The force was enough that the Necromancer had to quickly step backwards to counterbalance. This persisted at what looked like equally full force from both parties. _If it’s a show they wanted- it’s a show they most-certainly received._

But then James suddenly stopped attacking the Necromancer and started- _he’s charging right at me!_ Hosuh couldn’t be sure for a second, but once James reared his arms back over his shoulder, poised to attack with his blade, Hosuh turned around and ran- not really needing any other incentive. Dread turned Hosuh’s stomach at the thought- If James was _really_ after him, he wasn’t going to last more than another minute, especially with both of them taking any opportunity to possibly escape. 

He reached the boundary of the strange stadium. Then the Necromancer moved to stand between the Renegade and Hosuh. He pushed James back in a sudden movement and James laughed, but it was strained, “You’re a joke.”

“Like _you’re_ one to talk. _Ya bitch_.”

A blur of motion before a sharp _shing_ from the blades striking each other. James scoffed, “I thought ‘The Necromancer’ was all about robbing banks and killing a couple of kids!” James shouted.

“I’m always down for that!”

“Then why are you _protecting_ him?! This naïve, pathetic-”

“Shut up!” The Necromancer attempted to shove a dagger into the Renegade’s abdomen, but the dagger was deflected, and Necromancer was kneed in the gut, putting him down with a pained moan.

James stood over his curled body, “All you talk about is how you hate the law-abiding citizens and there you go, all head over heels for one!” 

The crowd gasped and sat on the edge of their seats.

The announcer's voice boomed over the hushed audience, “The story unfolds! Tell us- who is this mystery person to steal the heart of whom we’d call Death himself?!” 

“Idiots,” the Necromancer let out as he clutched his stomach on the floor.

“No one special, I assure you,” James spoke loudly to address the announcer and for the audience, “Just a coward with a soft heart and mind. He can’t mend to the times, so he relies on others to constantly save him.” 

“Bastard!” Necromancer rasped, but James stomped on his arm, causing him to jerk his body and yelp. 

Hosuh was stunned by the narrative they were weaving. _Was James implying that-_ no, surely not. We haven’t known each other for more than two hours- _but wasn’t this all just a show for our captors?_ The fighting seemed too authentic, too intense… yet, maybe it all had something to do with that secret plan, but who would knee someone in the gut just for show? _Apparently these lunatics._

The Necromancer said to follow along, not contradict what they were doing. _So what should I do here?_

Hosuh glanced back at the scene. They were still arguing _animatedly._ But suddenly, James held his sword up, preparing to strike down on the Necromancer’s prone form. 

So Hosuh, in his confusion, ran and tackled James to the floor, knocking the sword out of his hand. The audience was taken aback be his brash actions.

_Whatever is happening,_ Hosuh decided, _I won’t let James kill anyone, especially someone who was helping me- even the Necromancer._

Hosuh struggled to get to his feet, but he managed to leave James on his back and scramble toward the Necromancer. Hosuh fell to his knees in front of his bloodied mask, “Get up! You have to get up! Please…”

He heard the Necromancer snicker quietly and look up to face Hosuh, he could see his eyes are wrinkled with mirth through the mask’s eye-holes, “Are you that good of an actor, or do you think I’m _actually_ dying right now?” 

“W-what?” _Actor? Oh wait…were my speculations correct?_

The Necromancer lifted his mask up a little and coughed up some dark blood onto the floor, “Get ready, they’re coming for us- look for possible exits.” He began to slump against the concrete floor, and Hosuh tried to shake him awake. 

“No no no! Don’t go to sleep, that doesn’t- it doesn’t mean good things!” 

The people in the stands kept shouting for someone to stand up, but Hosuh’s attention was on the Necromancer. He didn’t understand what just happened, but he knew that James had fought him, tried to kill them both, and the Necromancer had saved him- for the plan or whatever.

He doesn’t know either of them, but he felt betrayed by James and absolutely demented for almost crying over someone who was literally trying to kill him. Everything was just getting too complicated and ridiculous. 

“Both are down!” The announcer declared, elated, “We are at a draw, folks! In less than a couple hours we’ll have them up and ready for round two!”

Hosuh was stunned as James and the Necromancer were carried out of the arena by two masked personnel who emerged from the entrance, before he was also ushered to follow them. They back-traveled along the dark corridor, up the flight of stairs leading them to the ground floor, and through twists and turns until they were inside of what looked like a poor imitation of a general doctor’s hospital room where the only source of light was from the large barred windows on the back wall. He entered the room before the others, and through the darkness, he saw that James and the Necromancer were handcuffed to the two hospital beds they were forced to recline on, placing them side by side with their backs to the window. There wasn’t a third cot in the room, but they urged him towards a chair pushed up against the wall opposite of the window, next to the entrance. He compiled without resistance, and hesitantly sat down, finding the chair surprisingly comfortable with a good view of the two cots. 

But of course, the clinking of metal rang out in the silent room, and Hosuh was handcuffed to the chair. As it turns out they were basically kicking a dead horse. 

Then they left with a click of the lock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, chapter two has been updated finally :D


	3. Chapter 3  A Story for the Crowd Keeps Us Alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Awkward questions, try to be consistent

Then they left.

 

As soon as the door closed James and the Necromancer sat up and scrambled to get out of their cuffs. Hosuh kind of just took in the sight in shock.

The Necromancer noticed, “Knew it.”

“Nice work, kind of terrifying when you went for my eye, but impressive. And Hosuh! Incredible! It looked like you were distressed and basically in tears. Overall, it worked better than we thought.”

_Oh… OH!_ “Yeah… that was… it felt so real…” Hosuh sputtered.

“Easiest way to make something look real is making it feel real,” the Necromancer stared at Hosuh.

A click sounded and James was out of the bed and stretching, “Wow, getting slower are we Necro?” 

“Pfft- yeah, you try moving after I slug _you_ in the gut,” he held up the handcuffs, and how he undid them without fully looking was beyond Hosuh.

“Well no time for that, we need an exit and now,” James paced the room looking for a vent or something.

The Necromancer sluggishly slid off the bed and knelt next to Hosuh, “I’m uncuffing you, alright.” Hosuh nodded. As he messed with the restraints, he whispered to Hosuh, “Sorry about scaring you like that, and… I’m sorry about trying to… you know… murder you. I wasn’t going to actually, I was going to take you to place like this for money and… this isn’t making things better. I’m sorry.” The cuffs were off and Hosuh rubbed his wrist but didn’t say anything.

“Hey, Hosuh,” James said but clearly still in thought, “Did you see anything on the way here?” 

Thinking of anything made Hosuh nauseous but he tried to remember hallways and windows, and… “There was an exit at the end of this hallway but there was someone walking around.”

“A patrol? That’s weird. They already restrained us here.”

James shook his head, “We’re their best merchandise.”

“Alright, so there’s a guard outside, no windows here, and they took our weapons,” Necromancer flung himself back on the bed.

Immediately James threw his arms to his pants, “My sword! I didn’t even-”

“Wait, you have a sword?!”

“Yeah, he uses that normally, I was surprised he didn’t pull that out,” The Necromancer sat of the floor next to Hosuh.

“That’s it! We’re taking out this guard.”

Hosuh’s eyes widened, “When you say take out, you mean knock him unconscious, right?”

Both James and the Necromancer stared at him then simultaneously said, “... Yes.”

“Dibs though,” Necromancer said.

“My sword, my kill- I mean, my fight.”

“My daggers are there too!”

“But knives aren’t a badass sword.”

“It’s just a longer knife!”

Hosuh sprung up from his seat, “We don’t have time! James, go get your… tools and you,” Hosuh pointed to Necromancer, “You, uh- get us a clear way to the exit while I lead the way, okay?.”

Both nodded and were about to answer when voices came close to the door in the hallway.

“Shit!”

James ran straight to the bed and poised himself in the way they had left him before. The Necromancer strained to get up but he fixed the handcuff to Hosuh and then laid down on his bed and put his on completely- locking it in the process, “Play along,” he whispered.

Two men and a woman entered the room. The men wore comedy and tragedy masks while the woman between them had a Raggedy Ann mask along with reddish pink hair or a wig?

Hosuh pretended to be slightly asleep while leaning on the Necromancer’s bed.

The woman took a step forward and waved the men away, “You two can leave.”

Once they left she sat to Hosuh’s right about five feet away, “So, with you being the main attractions here, I’m going to need what deets you have. The people love and hate you- either way, they want more… And with them out, I need you to answer a couple of simple questions.”

Clearly she was talking to Hosuh but he tried to ignore her and go on with his pretend nap. If they were lucky she would leave and they could move on with their plan.

She slammed her arm against the wall and Hosuh jumped, “I don’t care for little plays, unlike the rest of them. You’re not asleep. You’re going to answer my questions and then I’ll leave so you can relax here pretending that you’re gonna be fine after this… Honestly, what could make the _Renegade_ to want to kill you? You look as weak as fourteen year old nerd who never leaves his computer.” She held up a notepad, ready to write whatever he was going to say.

“I- uh, what?”

“Holy shit- I don’t have time for you to be confused. I’m going to have to spell things out just because you’re in shock or whatever,” she said, sounding completely exasperated, “Okay, the Renegade, him obviously,” she pointed to James, “wants you dead. So why is that?”

“I… I,” Hosuh struggled with trying figure out why as well, “Well… he thought that I… he thinks that I’m um… working with the Necromancer that killed… his fish?”

“His miss? You mean his girlfriend?”

“Yes?”

“So the Renegade believes you killed his girlfriend? Did you?”

“I could never kill anyone!”

“Did the Necromancer?”

“Not that I know of? It... couldn’t have been him.”

“Alright, so a misunderstanding,” she wrote something down, “and what’s this with the Necromancer?”

“What’s what?”

She took in a long breath, “What the fu- The Renegade revealed you two are involved, you were literally crying over him.”

_Well that’s embarrassing_. “Oh I… ha- uh, well… it’s complicated,” he suddenly felt himself getting all flushed about it.

“Duh. That’s why I’m here. I want that juicy story. Who are you to the Necromancer? A lover?”

“Yes?” Hosuh blurted accidentally.

She sat up, “Huh. The Necromancer having a lover. Ha! Okay, why’d that happen? And more importantly how?”

“I…” Hosuh paused and looked at the Necromancer, “I don’t know?”

“Yes you do. Everyone knows their story they just need to word it out. So get on with yours.”

Hosuh sighed and looked back to how they met. He’d need to change some parts of the story, “Originally, he tried to kill me.”

“The Necromancer tried to kill you? Not surprising,” she scribbled on her pad, “Then what? You convinced him not to kill you?”

“I doubt that would have been possible. I… I ran and I hid from him, but you know, hiding from him? That wasn’t going to last long.”

“Obviously,” she said matter of factly.

“So… I escaped my apartment… through a window and ran into the streets. I ran and ran. I had no idea where I was going.”

“Then?”

“I eventually got tired and… I decided to hide around cars… but he was following me. He caught up pretty fast but then a group of people surrounded me… I was being taken but he ran out and was caught as well…”

“You got kidnapped and he followed you? Why?!”

“I think he really wanted to have me as his kill after all the work he put in.”

She laughed.

“So we were being driven to an unknown destination together,” Hosuh tried to incorporate elements of what he had experienced tonight, “When we were there these people threw us into a room then tied us up to each other,” he paused not only to take in a breath but he was grasping at straws trying to figure out what to say, “You can imagine how terrified I was to be right next to him, but he easily got through, he had his daggers, they mean a lot actually… so…”

She sighed, “Yeah yeah,” she knocked three times on the walls and the comedy masked man walked in, “Daggers,” she snapped.

The man handed her the two daggers.

“They’ll be here, but no one but me is going to be touching them, got it?”

Hosuh nodded then paused to consider, “Could you also bring the Renegade’s sword?”

“Why?”

“Uh… I want to see if it’s damaged, because… I couldn’t figure out why he didn’t use it earlier…” Hosuh hoped bringing up the Necromancer’s point from before would be enough.

She knocked on the wall twice and the tragedy masked man entered.

“Sword!”

The man took off the belt that was holding it and handed it to her after she set the daggers on the floor.

“You two leave!” They left with no words said.

“Ugh! I’m wasting time! Forget the sword and go on with how you met! Also when was this? It couldn’t have been tonight. Was it?”

_For this story to work it couldn’t have been tonight_ , “No, it was… last year?”

She nodded, “Okay, so some history here. What happened once he released himself?”

“I thought he was going to kill me there, but for some reason he didn’t and he got me out and…”

“And?”

“And…” Hosuh tried to say something that would make sense for the Necromancer, “There’s fewer people to enjoy the purge this year.”

She sat silently to write down a few things then looked back up, “Why not kill you after?”

“I don’t know… The twelve hours were up?”

She chuckled, “Okay, what happened to you and him after?”

“Huh? Oh um… you see…” Hosuh tried to come up with an explanation that made sense but nothing really came up. What would happen in a story like that?

“Hot, passionate sex,” The Necromancer said groggily.

Hosuh’s face instantly heated up.

“Hmm, I see,” she wrote, completely unbothered by the lewd remark, “I took you for a virgin when I saw you, but I can see how he would make that scenario play out.”

“Wait what?”

She ignored him, “Necromancer? I have a few questions for you.” He didn’t respond, he just laid motionless. She slammed her notepad to the floor and Hosuh jumped again at the loud sound but the Necromancer didn’t move. Either he actually passed out or he is just that good at keeping his face in repose.

She sighed, “Well at least he gave something useful… So that was it? That’s what led to you two… being together? One roll in the sheets and he’s transfixed on you?”

Hosuh shrugged awkwardly. He still wasn’t over what the Necromancer said.

“We’ll move on for now. As for the killing the Renegades girlfriend?”

Hosuh took a second to come up with something, “That...uh I was running tonight, you see, someone was chasing me and I was able to get away… I hid behind a car and then… I saw someone on the ground. I went to her and tried shaking her but she didn’t respond and…and-” Hosuh actually got choked up. He didn’t fully make this story up, there was a year when he had to hide inside a dumpster the entire night except when searching for a dumpster to hide in.

That night was still clear in his mind despite it being years ago. She was younger than him and he turned her over and her eyes were glazed over. She was clearly dead, the stab wound didn’t even need to tell you that.

“She was already dead?”

“Yes.”

“That’s when the Renegade showed up I presume?”

“Yes.”

“He just saw you over her and assumed it was you?”

“Yes,” Hosuh knew she asked him sarcastically but he didn’t know how else to play it out, “I think it was because Necromancer was right behind me.”

“Ah, okay.” There was a knock at the door, “Ugh! What do you want?! I’m in the middle of something!”

“Ten minutes are up Ann,” a voice said through the door.

“Can’t I get another minute?!”

“I gave you two extra minutes, they’re getting angry!”

Hosuh didn’t exactly know who _they_ were, the audience? Not that it mattered. 

She immediately got up and ran to the door, “Thank you for your time! See you in a bit!” She must be a journalist outside of this with how she handled everything and how she left…

The door slammed behind her and Hosuh was able to take a breath of relief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter, weird one I know but it was the only way to push the ship forward for this story... I know, a lot of dialogue but I hope y'all enjoyed it still  
> The next chapter should be out in a few days (2-4 days)  
> Thanks for reading :)


	4. Chapter 4  A Conversation For Time to Pass

Hosuh took a breath of relief.

 

James started laughing while undoing the handcuffs, “That was hysterical! Also thanks for the tragic backstory. I think that played out well.”

As he continued laughing the Necromancer laid staring at the ceiling, “Seriously couldn’t come up with anything else?”

“You could have answered the questions! Not me!”

“We couldn’t have. Do you have any idea what questions they could have asked or gotten the idea of asking if we had been ‘awake’? It had to be you.”

“You didn’t have to say anything.” 

“If I didn’t it would have spiraled out and she would have caught on you were lying. The only reason she didn’t catch on was because she desperately needed a story. It had to be shocking enough so she wouldn’t think about details,” the Necromancer huffed.

James wheezed, “You’re the one who came up with the story.”

“It was the easiest thing to come up with! You’re telling me that it’s not an interesting plot line you’d follow?!” The Necromancer protested.

“It’s like a weird horror yet a romantic comedy series that I’d binge watch only because I watched the first episode and got nothing better to do. But hearing you say ‘hot, passionate sex’ was absolutely priceless.”

“Anyways…” Hosuh tried to undo the handcuff but apparently tugging at it won’t help.

“No, yeah. You’re right. We have to move,” James stood up, “Good work on on getting me my sword.”

“Oh yeah… thanks for my daggers.”

Hosuh nodded but clearly was struggling with the handcuff.

“Alright, so new plan is going to stem off of Hosuh’s original plan. I don’t hear anyone outside… We’re going to sneak out and get to the exit you mentioned,” James nodded to Hosuh.

As the Necromancer stood up he fell to a knee and clutched his stomach.

“Woah! Are you okay?” Hosuh stood up but was held back by his handcuff.

He waved it off as he stood on shaky legs, “Fine,” he slowly got Hosuh’s wrist free again, “Let’s go. I’m sick of this place.”

 

Out in the hallway no one was there, and the door wasn’t locked… 

Hosuh whispered directions and they faced the the small exit door.

“Do we trust it?” The Necromancer said.

“What are you saying?”

“Our door was unlocked. And then they would make this door rigged? It’s made to look like an exit but in actuality it’s a trap to call us out on our lies.”

James took a step and opened the door.

“Or just a regular door,” the Necromancer shrugged.

 

They all stepped out and watched for sensors, every step filled them with paranoia. And yet with every step nothing happened.

“No offense but what kind of place let’s its attraction walk out the door?” Necromancer sounded more offended than anything else.

“Just be grateful for it,” muttered James.

“Look! There it is. This disaster is almost over,” the Necromancer said and frankly, Hosuh was thinking the same thing.

The deteriorated building was in front of them again, hidden in plain sight.

“Before we just waltz on in, I have to go in first and explain the situation,” James said but he said situation in a strange way. Then he looked back at both of them, “...on second thought-”

“Just go in! I’m going to do anything too bad,” the Necromancer sneered.

“Uh…”

James groaned then turned to Hosuh, “You see my dilemma, right?”

“Seriously, what am I going to do? If I were going to kill Hosuh then I’d have you on my tail for the rest of my life to gut me, not just on this day of the year, and second, what would be the point of it?”

“He hasn’t run away, or done anything to betray your trust tonight,” Hosuh peeped.

“Yet,” James scowled, “This is his chance.”

“Maybe, but he could have done that earlier- he got out of those handcuffs faster than you,” Hosuh insisted with this newfound concern for the Necromancer, mainly because he believed James would kill him right there if not given a reason not to.

“He needed you for directions.”

_Oh, right_ , “He’s the reason all of us got out though, if not for his… idea, then I’d be dead and you or him would still be fighting.”

James made a pained noise, “Fine! I’m going to leave you out here,” he pointed to the Necromancer, “but if you harm Hosuh, run once I enter, or do anything besides standing in a fixed position, I will hunt you down just like you described but I won’t offer you mercy.”

Despite the intimidating chat, the Necromancer looked more irked than scared, “And I understood you the first time. Get us in.”

James took a step back to stare at the Necromancer a second longer, then turned around and walked through the doors of the wrecked building. And all that was left was the Necromancer, Hosuh, and the awkward silence.

Hosuh took a seat on the lip of the sidewalk and starred off at the empty street while the Necromancer just stood like he was locked in place. Maybe he was scared of the Renegade.

Somewhere far away, car horn blared but neither moved.

Finally Hosuh cleared his throat, “So… what got you to… um wait no…”

“We don’t need small talk.”

Hosuh mentally slapped himself, _right, that’s stupid. I’m stupid. There’s no need to… I just need to shut up. James will be out any second and then I’ll be here until this horrible night is up. Everything is going to be fine. I’ll survive tonight if I just shut up_ …

“Ugh. Fine. If you were to live for hundred years with either the mind of your age now, or the body, which would you pick?”

Hosuh sat up, “I thought you didn’t-”

“Yeah, well- I’m bored and want an argument. Now pick.”

“Hm…” Hosuh took a second to decide, “I think I’d pick mind.”

“What?! Why?”

“‘Cause I don’t have many physical skills, but I’m pretty creative and I like what I know now. I don’t want to forget some good memories or my aspirations because I doubt myself as I get older. I want to keep believing everything’s okay. I don’t want to lose that.”

“… Huh. I’d say I still want to be this young. I worked way too hard to lose all my strength to old age. And a cynical mind is still a good mind, it’s what kept me alive,” Necromancer shifted, “Alright, your turn.”

“Um… okay, if you were to wake up tomorrow with any… ability or quality then what would you want it to be?”

“That’s a good one, I guess I’d need to be able to go to sleep and wake up for it, but I think I’d want to be able to wake up and be able to shapeshift!”

“That’s not a quality.”

“It’s not, but you also said ‘ability’ so free range.”

“Why would you pick shapeshifting?”

“Easier to get around? I wouldn’t have to wear this all the time either,” he pointed to his mask, “but really, probably because I could avoid people… Not many appreciate my hobbies, or me, so if I could become someone else… I don’t know. What’s your pick?”

“... Since we’re going off of superpowers, I would want to fly.”

“Of course you’d pick that. Basic!”

“No no, hear me out. If I could fly, I could reach every shelf in my apartment, every cabinet,” Hosuh raised his arms, imagining it, “I’m so short, it would be great.”

“You know what? You’re right. I’d pick flight so I could fly away from all my problems!” He joked and Hosuh laughed.

The Necromancer then turned to face him, “Serious one, if you knew that in one year you were going to die, would you change anything about how you live?”

“I already live that way,” Hosuh chuckled but there was no humor behind it, “I don’t think I would. Maybe I would eat more, but there’s nothing I could do to change anything in my life right now… You? What would you change?”

“I’d try to change the fact that I’d be dying in a year… but if that didn’t work? I’d stop caring. I wouldn’t want to waste my time thinking about what coworkers think of me or what I’m suppose to be doing for my future. It would be… liberating I think.”

Hosuh nodded.

“Do you sing to yourself?”

_That was random_. “Yeah, sorta,” Hosuh felt a little shy about it.

“When?”

“... When I cook.”

Hosuh couldn’t see it, but the Necromancer grinned.

Then footsteps were running at them from behind but when the Necromancer got in a stance, ready with his daggers then realized it was just James.

“Oh, it’s you.”

“Yeah, easy there,” James waved his hands so weapons would be put away, “Good news, I got us in but they’re gonna be watching you closely.”

“Don’t care.”

“Weapons can’t be out.”

“Obviously.”

“No talking with anyone.”

“Wasn’t go to… are we done? I think I get the rules.”

James sighed but didn’t answer him, “Hosuh, you good?”

“Huh? I’m fine.”

“He didn’t threaten you or anything?” James whispered.

“None of that happened,” Hosuh said.

“What do you take me for?!”

James stood up straighter, “I take you for someone to not be trusted. Someone not worthy of it, now let’s get in before we draw attention here.”

“Pfft, whatever.” 

They both followed rounding corner after corner and finally reaching a large room with rows of torn up mattresses with people lounging on them and others watching any openings. Some people were injured and were receiving medical help. Some of the people looked dead already and maybe they were. Hosuh tried to block that out.

“These the guys?”

“Yeah, now let us in.”

“James!” A girl with long brown hair stood up from the side of one of the makeshift beds and ran into his arms, “You were gone a lot longer than you said and I thought… Thank you for being alive!” She practically cried into his shoulder.

“Like I’d miss out on seeing you again,” He lifted his mask and kissed her.

The Necromancer leaned next to Hosuh, “Seeing this makes me want to die in my sleep peacefully like my grandfather did, but I’d settle with how the other passengers did in his car.”

Hosuh didn’t mean to… but he just laughed. It was so unexpected, ridiculous, and really morbid, but it didn’t matter because he needed that. Even the Necromancer laughed with him and Hosuh laughed more because what an adorable and strange laugh. But still not the time for messing around.

“Who are they?” Her face no longer was friendly or inviting. If looks could kill, then Hosuh and the Necromancer would be bloodlied on the floor.

“Hi,” Hosuh waved.

“This is Hosuh,” James walked her over to them, “I brought him here so he could have sanctuary.”

“And him?” she said as if mentioning the Necromancer would poison her.

“You… you already know,” James held her hand to give an apology. 

“You brought him in here?! James!” She pulled her hand away, “It’s like you want death constantly at your- no, _our_ door!” 

“We have a truce right now, Jaiden.” 

“Because that’s so comforting,” she rested her head in her palm.

“Look, I’m handling problems as they come up.”

“He’s going to cause stress and panic here.”

As they argued the Necromancer and Hosuh stood in this uncomfortable scene. “So, wanna go back to that little game?” The Necromancer pulled Hosuh a step or two away from them.

Hosuh raised an eyebrow, “Game?”

“I’ll start, if you could ask any question and have it answered, what would would you ask?” 

“Oh, uh, how will I die?”

The Necromancer tilted his head, “I was expecting a ‘how was the universe created?’ or a ‘Are all humans inherently evil?’ but alright. Why?”

“I don’t know, I guess I’d want to be mentally prepared for it.”

“Then you should ask ‘when will I die?’ rather than thinking about how, the how of it doesn’t matter.”

“I guess you’re right. What’s your question?”

“What really happened to the dinosaurs?” He said with a monotone voice.

“Seriously?”

“You’re right. I’m curious but I think I’d ask how long humanity has left.”

“I don’t like thinking about that stuff,” Hosuh shuddered.

“I don’t either.”

Hosuh blinked, confused, “Then… then why ask at all?”

He shrugged, “I dunno, closure?”

Hosuh looked over the place. A lot of people were looking at them, well more specifically the Necromancer, his dried blood jacket and skull mask really didn’t help. The people whispered amongst each other, it made Hosuh self-conscience despite it not even being about him. In the background of it all, James and the woman, Jaiden, were still fighting.

“I can’t let him go back out, Jaiden! If I do, how many more get hurt?”

“You can’t save everyone!”

A boy tugged at Hosuh’s hand suddenly. When Hosuh looked at him the boy pointed to the Necromancer and him. He pulled Hosuh to an old woman who was on a mattress on the floor. The boy whispered something in her ear and she smiled, “Thank goodness. Are you recruits of the Renegade? You’re here to get supplies?”

Hosuh felt his heart break. How he wished he could say yes in this moment and mean it honestly. How could he tell this woman that he was as helpless as her?

“We are ma’am. What do need?” The Necromancer spoke from behind Hosuh, and while Hosuh was glad no bads news was said he now had to worry about helping the poor woman.

“Insulin, my granddaughter… she needs insulin. It was lost on the way here and…”

“Understood.”

“And my grandson is still out there.”

“Out there? What do you mean?” Hosuh knew what she meant, someone she loved was in danger and there was nothing she could do, but was she wrong to put her faith in them?

“Where do you think he's at, ma'am? Could you give us a description?” The Necromancer knelt down and Hosuh followed.

The woman gave them an address and told them that he'd be easy to find because he had green hair.

_Wait_.

“We'll do our best to find him,” then the Necromancer stood up, “and that insulin.”

She thanked them profusely.

“And… What’s his name?” Hosuh asked, desperately praying that it wasn’t who he thought it was.

“Daniel, his name is Daniel.”

_Oh no_. 

Hosuh felt dizzy. He knew this Daniel. He consider him a friend. He didn’t know him well but Daniel was always kind. He was this outgoing, friendly person and he certainly did not deserve to die tonight.

They took a step back and James pulled them back to the center of the place, “I look away for two minutes- I told you not to talk to anyone.” He looked angry. It was weird to be able to tell when people had masks on…

“But these people have family out there!”

“Hosuh, there's only so much we can do,” James sighed.

“Hey, the lady was asking for- for who, Hosuh?”

“Her grandson, Daniel, and he's at the hospital, not too far from here.”

“Yeah, him, so how about Hosuh and I yeet on over there, collect him, and get that medicine that she also mentioned. There's bound to be a drug store on the way or hell, medicine in a hospital! I know revolutionary.” 

“No way that’s happening,” James interrupted.

“Why not? You get me out of here like your girlfriend wanted and I'm still useful to you. I'm even bringing Hosuh as a witness and as my GPS.”

“As a victim.”

“I wouldn't,” he said grimly, before returning to his stoic demeanor, “I'm having too much fun, but I won't be if I can't get out of here. I'm offering a solution to not one, not two, but three problems! Take it or leave it.”

“... I can't allow it because I can't go along, I promised to others-”

“We did too, James, please let us help her at least,” Hosuh pleaded.

“Let them go, James. If it's true, we'll get supplies and someone else safe and sound like you want, and if it's not, we still don't have him under our roof,” Jaiden appeared from behind, her voice was soothing and gentle, like trying to convince a child to save a cookie for after supper.

“If it's a lie, he dies,” James whispered to her but Hosuh knew what he was talking about.

That's right, didn't the Necromancer himself tell him that he was going to sell him? Hosuh forgot about that in this whole mess but he wouldn't do that to him now, right? But maybe he shouldn't be so naïve to think that a conversation or two would keep someone from killing him. But he was hoping that maybe it was. Besides he wouldn’t live with himself he knew he could saved Daniel and didn’t try.

So he took a deep breath, “It’s okay. We’ll be back in an hour?” He looked to the Necromancer to hopefully make him accountable to a time limit.

“An hour, max,” the Necromancer nodded.

“They want to go, James. Let them.”

Hosuh could tell James was staring at her with either a blank look or a construed one. It stayed like that for a second long enough to make it awkward…

He looked to Hosuh then Jaiden and back to Hosuh, “Fine.”

Hosuh felt relief sweep over him, with the Necromancer on his side, Daniel would be fine.

_If_ the Necromancer was on his side.

“I know the rules. Let’s go, Hosuh!” The Necromancer stated, grabbed his arm and started to pull Hosuh out the door.

“Don’t get caught!” James called out.

“We won’t!” The Necromancer responded.

James ran up to them, “And if Hosuh is hurt-” 

“I get to find out what it’s like to be pulled apart by dogs,” he finished, “I get it.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” and that was the last thing James said before they were already out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said I would post in a few days but I just had to get this one out :) Hope you enjoyed.  
> As for when the next chapter will be out, it should be in about 2-4 days. I really need to learn pacing...  
> Thanks for reading :)


	5. Chapter 5  I'm Not Carrying It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taking a walk?

They were out the door.

 

The Necromancer didn’t let Hosuh go until they were outside facing the street. Hosuh didn’t realize how dark it really was outside until being in that previous building. The only thing lighting anything up was some small fires going everywhere around the city.

The Necromancer rested his hands on his hips, “Alright, which way, GPS?”

Housh was mildly taken aback by not being dead yet. Then he reminded himself that the Necromancer would be doing himself more harm than good, but that didn’t really soothe him on not being murdered.

Hosuh must have been quiet for too long, because the Necromancer sounded offended, “Come on, you don’t think I’d actually… Ah- nevermind. Which way?”

“The right,” Hosuh mumbled, suddenly feeling very rude. 

“Off we go.”

They walked normally for a few minutes. It felt weird to Housh, not just the walk but that he knew these streets so well but that they looked so different tonight. 

Someone had tagged up the beautiful artwork that was painted on the side of a building. He hated that. There wasn’t a lot that could get him upset but that was one of them. How could someone consciously destroy something that was there to please people?

“You look mad. I didn’t do anything is the past two minutes, have I?” He joked.

Hosuh regained himself, “No, I was just… I…”

“We got plenty of time, might as well _kill_ it.”

Hosuh pretended that comment didn’t spook him, “The artwork…” he pointed to it, “I… pass by here every now and then and I… I liked it.” Hosuh looked to the floor as to not have to see what became of it. He could remember it so clearly. It was a jungle with a menagerie of plants, flowers, colorful birds. Every leaf was painted with so much care. The flowers were so bright and looked so real- Hosuh figure he could smell them if he went up to them.

“Oh,” clearly not what the Necromancer was expecting, “I… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Hosuh sighed, “It’s not your fault. It’s just what happens.”

“Maybe, but it’s still sad to see fine work get ruined like that.”

Hosuh couldn’t tell if he was lying or not. “I guess it doesn’t matter anyways,” he looked at it one last time. The once intricate designs of plant life and birds destroyed with stripes of neon reds and blues. Even the yellow bird in mid-flight that had been his favorite was covered up, only one wing could be seen of it now.“If they wanted to make something- why couldn’t they pick a different wall?” Hosuh let himself say.

“Couldn’t find a blank one?” The Necromancer shrugged.

“But there’s blank walls everywhere and it’s legal to do anything tonight, so why... ?” Hosuh didn’t understand why he was getting emotional over talented graffiti, but that didn’t stop his feelings from making him want to cry.

The Necromancer made a ‘I dunno’ noise, “People just like messing with others- these ones just happen to like making a statement while at it.” 

“What statement?” Hosuh asked, trying to sound steady.

“What did the little mural represent?”

“A jungle?”

“Be more symbolic.”

“Life? Peacefulness?”

“And what did they do to it?”

“They… they destroyed it,” Hosuh felt stupefied. 

The Necromancer shrugged again, “Huh. I’d say they put their own ideals into it.”

Though they had passed the mural a while ago, they had talked about it thoroughly. Seeing ideas and references where none probably lied, but enjoyable nonetheless. They talked about everything and nothing. They could have been friends, maybe, had they not met tonight… and definitely not in the way they _did_ meet. 

After walking for almost ten minutes, Hosuh saw and pointed out a drug store, “We can go to it on the way back.” 

“On the way back? What if we need a different route. We should go get what we need now so we don’t risk coming back in territory we might be being watched in.”

Well that didn’t help Hosuh’s nerves, “But shouldn’t we worry about Daniel first?”

The Necromancer scoffed, “I’m pretty sure if Daniel handled himself the first few hours in, he can handle another half hour.”

“Maybe he doesn’t have a half hour.” 

“Then we’re too late anyways. Let’s get that insulin and a pack of band aids while we’re at it.”

Hosuh gulped, he wasn’t going to argue too much with the Necromancer, so he knew he’d have to settle, maybe he could persuade the Necromancer to move based off of the limited time they had… 

He had to stop the Necromancer from breaking the glass door, since Housh noticed that someone had already broken a window, so they could get in from there without making unnecessary noise. Though there was glass all over the counter that was on the other side.

“You’re no fun,” the Necromancer pouted, “It’s the purge! The one day where nothing matters.”

“Everything that happens tonight still has consequences, maybe not with the law but they still do.”

“How?! The whole point is no consequences!” 

“Who do you think is going to fix this window?” Hosuh asked as he watched the Necromancer leap through the window as if it was a practiced motion, “Who is going to pay for it?”

The Necromancer swiped away some glass the was on the counter, then motioned Hosuh to follow him, “Taxes?” 

“The people’s taxes rise because the government refuses to use its other tax money towards fixing what they started,” Hosuh said as he struggled to crawl through, “So now the economy suffers for a bit until it fixes itself, then gets destroyed by the next year. And this is not even mentioning all the countless people who… who no one can replace.”

The Necromancer helped him the rest of the way down, “Jobs open up?”

He watched the Necromancer look through the store while Hosuh continued to babble on his thoughts about the purge, “Small businesses are gone. Jobs that no one wants that go to usually the lower class who are being taken out during this night, so less employees for those much needed jobs. People just in general losing family and friends.” He didn’t notice how worked up he was getting, it kind of explained why he was upset about the wall art.

“Alright, then. What about the studies and statistics that show less crime happens throughout the year, or that resources aren’t being as wasted as they were before, or that this night allows a de-stress for people?” The Necromancer asked while searching the aisles.

Hosuh paced, barely looking for anything important, “People don’t need a day of crime to de-stress! Murder is not going to fix that. People need to figure out how to solve their problems that doesn’t involve… hurting anyone in the process…” Hosuh hugged his own arms. A solution for the whole thing was near impossible, but he just knew that what they had now… it wasn’t right, and it wasn’t working. 

“UGH!” The Necromancer suddenly yelled from behind a large shelf.

Hosuh jumped, but still ran over, “Insulin?”

“No! Most of everything in this store is gone or absolutely destroyed,” he began placing items he did find on the shelf in front of them to show Hosuh, “Alright, so I found us like one tube of Neosporin stuff… I found these pain killers because I’m still aching, so someone back there is probably too.” Then he pulled out a small, pink and white box, “And also this box of _Hello Kitty_ band aids, because everything else is gone.” 

“Would the back have anything?” 

The Necromancer sucked in a breath, agitated, “Hosuh, buddy, if everything here is looted- the back likely is as well.”

Hosuh rapidly nodded. Not a time for suggestions then. 

“At least they left a bag here,” the Necromancer lifted a navy blue bookbag up off the floor, where it was previously leaning against the assumed owner who looked to be passed out at Stephen’s feet- at least Hosuh assumed they were passed out, “I guess I can use this after the purge.” He stuffed what little they found into it, “And what was next? Hospital to find what’s-his-name?” 

“Daniel.”

“Yeah, whatever,” the Necromancer waved his hand, “We should bring this back to James’ place so we have something to return with.” 

“What about Daniel?!” _We’re not leaving him behind, are we?!_

“If he’s been out this long, he’s either dead or can wait another hour.”

“Maybe he can’t wait another hour!” Hosuh tried reasoning again. 

“Yeah, but you can’t expect me to be able to defend you, and carry this all at once?” He held up the the bag. The Necromancer started walking towards the broken window they entered from. 

Hosuh followed, “I can hold it then.”

The Necromancer shrugged, and threw the bag at Hosuh. Then he hopped through the window easily. 

Hosuh wasn’t fast enough to catch the flying bag as it smacked his face, then it slid down his front before landing in his arms.

“Nice catch.” 

“Nice _throw_ ,” Hosuh muttered under his breath. He climbed on the counter to get to the window, but almost slipped in the process if not for the Necromancer helping him the rest of the way through and back onto the sidewalk.

“Fine, which way’s the hospital?” Hosuh watch him meticulously scan the street for anyone within the vicinity, and Hosuh found himself mimicking his movements. 

“Uh, should be a few blocks that way,” He gestured to the right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter out :) Always a good thing  
> Also, I wanted to mention that previous chapters have been updated, I'd recommend looking over those again if you already read them, I promised it's worth it.  
> And I gotta thank the best editor ever, because I wouldn't know what to do after this chapter without them (and for making everything sound 10x better) Thank you!  
> Hope y'all enjoyed. Thanks for reading :)


	6. Chapter 6  Gotta Find Daniel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They need to find insulin and Daniel- it's just that obstacles keep getting in the way.

"A few blocks that way."

 

“Well, probably should start walking to get there,” However, they both knew that instead of walking like they would any other night, they’d be slowly making their way across downtown, hiding in the shadows and slinking between streetlights to avoid any detection, which would further slow their mission’s progress. 

They walked for about a minute in the awkward silence until the Necromancer couldn’t take it anymore, “If you had a third arm, what would you do with it?” 

“A third… what?”

“A third arm. Keep up, Hosuh.”

“... I don’t know? … what would you do?” 

“I’d hold a third knife.”

An airy laugh passed Hosuh’s lips, despite how he knew in the back of his mind the Necromancer probably wasn’t joking. 

“I’ll ask another one- don’t worry, this one will be at your level. What would you do without the internet?” The Necromancer asked. 

“Oh, umm- I would probably die without it, honestly.” 

“Yeah, I’d rather just shoot myself.” 

Hosuh took a second to come up with a different question, “Hmm, if you could know someone’s whole life story, who would you want to know about?”

“Everything?”

“Yeah, everything,” Hosuh responded.

“Every conversation- every _secret_?”

“... You’re making me regret asking this.” 

The Necromancer put his hand to his chin, quiet for longer than Hosuh thought he’d be, “Well… That’s a tough one,” he turn to Hosuh and answered with a grim voice, “You.”

_If I were to run, how far would I get?_

Then, the Necromancer started laughing, likely at Hosuh’s mortified expression, “You didn’t have to take it so seriously,” he said between wheezes, “Your face!” 

_Maybe if I weren’t so nice, the Necromancer would have the bag thrown to his head. He better be grateful of that fact._

After the Necromancer calmed from his spontaneous fit of giggles, he looks back at Hosuh, “So, who’d _you_ choose, then?”

“... Um, maybe-” Before Hosuh could finish saying another word, they were interrupted by a piercing scream that rang out through the streets, that continued in short, agonizing bursts. The source seemed to emanate from the path they just trekked through.

The Necromancer pulled Hosuh against a car, and they both crouched low to the ground, effectively cloaking themselves in the shadows. 

“What was that?” Hosuh whispered. 

The Necromancer peeked over the car, “It sounded like it was right behind us,” he whisper-shouted.

“Behind us?!” Hosuh started to panic.

The Necromancer hushed him, and they heard it again. 

It sounded as if someone was being gutted.

“Good thing we’re not headed there,” The Necromancer said nonchalantly.

“We’re not gonna mention that it’s happening right where we just were?” Hosuh stuttered out. 

“Not our problem now, is it? Come on, we gotta keep moving.” 

The Necromancer stood back up, gripped Hosuh’s forearm and pulled him up. The street seemed twenty times more mencing than it was five minutes ago, especially with the promise of unseen horrors lurking in every corner. 

They make it another block closer to their destination, and that much farther away from the incessant screaming, which has gotten annoying at this point- at least to the Necromancer, who expresses that fact avidly. 

After they were far enough away to only hear faded cries, the Necromancer thought it a good time to lighten the mood, “So, if you could kill Hitler, would you?” 

_Is he serious?_ “What? How would I-” 

The Necromancer interrupted him, “Say you could go back in time and, oh- I don’t know, take out baby Hitler- would you?”

“No…? I wouldn’t want to hurt a baby...” 

“But it’d be _baby Hitler_.” 

“...I mean, he hasn’t done anything at that point though…” 

“Ugh, fine. Whatever. What if you could kill _adult_ Hitler? Are you happy?” The Necromancer scoffed.

“Why do you want me to kill Hitler?”

“Why can’t you answer the question? It’s literally as simple as two plus two.”

Hosuh shook his head, astonished, “It’s not an easy question.”

“Yes it is, what do you mean- it’s not an easy question? Kill Hitler- save millions. Don’t kill Hitler- millions die. I thought this would be easy for you. Come on- why are you making this so complicated?”

“It’s not an easy-? What?” 

“One life or millions. Oh, and that one life is a racist, manipulative asshole- too easy.”

“Okay, then. If I were to… kill Hitler, wouldn’t someone just replace him? Someone who could be… maybe worse than him? I could just end up making things even worse…”

“Well, by that logic, I’d do it because there’s a chance that someone _better_ would replace Hitler. Boom. Can’t argue with that.” 

“But what are the chances that could happen- with the country being at such a loss, corrupt leaders will take advantage of the disparity.” 

“Stop poking holes in my brilliance, Hosuh.” 

“Then stop making flimsy arguments,” Hosuh giggled. 

“Whatever. I don’t even care,” despite the Necromancer's words, he laughed along, “Next question!” 

“You’re avoiding facts-”

“Next. Question.” 

_Well fine, then._

“Uh- how about telepathy? What would you do with it?”

“That’s when you can move shit with your mind, right?”

“No, it’s the other one, I think.” 

“Reading minds? Can I also put thoughts into _other_ people’s heads?” The Necromancer perked up.

“I don’t want to know what’d you do with that ability…” 

“Jeez, I was just going to put Darude Sandstorm on repeat in their heads. What did you think?” The Necromancer had the audacity to look offended. 

“Nothing.”

“You sure?”

Hosuh tried to direct the conversation back to where it was, “… What would you do if you could _read_ minds?”

The Necromancer suddenly grabbed Hosuh’s shoulders and hushed him. He looked around them, “Did you hear that?” 

“Hear what?” Hosuh whispered. When the Necromancer didn’t answer, Hosuh began trying to listen for whatever it was the Necromancer heard. 

It was distant at first, but Hosuh easily recognized The Living Tombstone’s remix of Andrew Gold’s _Spooky Scary Skeletons_ rapidly getting closer, accompanied with hollering and people screaming along with the lyrics, who must be riding in the vehicle playing the song. Hosuh never really suspected that song could become so terrifying.

The Necromancer immediately bursted into laughter, hardly trying to keep their cover intack. 

Now it was Hosuh’s turn to silence the Necromancer, or at the very least attempt to… “Do you want them to find us?!” 

“Ah- oh my God, that’s _brilliant!_ I could shed a tear,” he mimed wiping away a non-existent tear. 

Hosuh tugged at his sleeve as the singing got closer, “We have to go. We have to go!”

“Fine, just go behind a car then.” 

Hosuh kept tugging his sleeve and pointed to an alley just ahead of them, “What if that’s not enough! Let’s go over there!”

Despite the mask, it was obvious the Necromancer was rolling his eyes. 

_It’s disturbing to realize just how much I can read him with minimal body language and no facial expressions…_

“You’re kidding. They can’t pay attention to us with that masterpiece playing on full volume.” 

Hosuh’s arms fell to his sides. _Am I seriously going to die with Spooky Scary Skeletons playing in the background?_

“But fine- you’ve convinced me,” Hosuh ran to the alleyway while the Necromancer walked, “What? Can’t hear the music as well from there. ”

_This guy is gonna die._

They both crouched down against the wall, and they waited until the music passed them until they spoke again. 

“Isn’t it cool to think that that could be the last time we hear it?”

“Not really, no,” Hosuh pushed that thought away. 

“I’d be fine with that being played at my funeral. Imagine that,” the Necromancer paused, “I guess I’d need some streamers and probably some fireworks otherwise what’s the point?” 

“You can’t be serious.” 

“What? I don’t want people to sit through a funeral they could hardly remember. I mean- I can hardly remember what happened at all the funerals I’ve been too.”

“Whose?” 

The Necromancer leaned against the wall, “Hmm? Oh… Doesn’t really matter now, I guess. But I get to plan my funeral with confetti, so… sucks to be them.” 

Hosuh stared at him. _Did he… Did he just say that?_

“And I guess since I’m dead, the rest of my money can go to getting one of those people cannons to launch my body across the room.”

_Did he just say that?!_ Hosuh has never face palmed harder in his life, but couldn’t help letting out a stifled chorkle.

“Finally got a laugh! I’d call that a win. I’d say we’re getting to him.” 

Hosuh ignored that comment in favor of peeking around the alley entrance. No one in sight, “We should move now, right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who finally learned how to do _italics_  
>  Welp, now we gotta look through the _old_ chapters  
>  _Anyways_ , another chapter is out! :D Hope y'all enjoyed and as always- Thanks for reading :)


	7. Chapter 7  A Doctor's Oath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since last Chapter was shorter- his one will be _Longer_  
>  Hope y'all are grateful XD

"We should get moving."

 

The Necromancer straightened from the wall, “Still haven’t given up on that hospital bullshit?” 

“Daniel- you’re forgetting Daniel…” Hosuh looked at him incredulously. 

The Necromancer dismissed him with a flip of the wrist, “Like I’d give a crap about someone I don’t know. Why is he so important to _you_ , anyway?”

“He’s… He’s someone’s grandson. She asked for him back at the sanctuary!” Hosuh said as he took a step out of the alleyway. 

The Necromancer followed suit, “Yeah, she also asked for insulin, but we’re just gonna ignore that girl’s life, sure.”

“That’s not- I didn’t forget her… I know Daniel personally,” Hosuh sounded solemn.

The Necromancer feigned being deep in thought- his voice refusing to waver, “Ah- I see. Didn’t realize you swung that way.” 

A beat of silence passed between them.

“Wait- Daniel and I- it’s not- we aren’t-”

“Don’t worry- I don’t give a shit.” 

“But we’re not-”

“It’s okay. Homosexual relationships don’t disturb me at all- I mean, I had a gay friend once. He ended up dying, but you get the point.” 

“I wasn’t saying- wait what?!”

“I mean- your ponytail kind of gave it away, too. And the way you speak as well, ‘oh no! Killing is bad, and you should _never_ do it, ever.’ wha- your gay lover is in trouble? Better put on my shining armor.”

“I _said_ , I’m not-”

“You know, it’s the world who are the real homophobes- hating on cool, legit people. _They’re_ the ones missing out.” Hosuh could tell that his nonchalant demeanor was slipping. 

Hosuh felt his face heat up, “I wasn’t saying- wait are you messing with me?”

“No,” the smile was obvious in his voice, “What? Can’t I show my support?”

“I can’t tell if you’re joking.”

“It might be a joke to _you_ , but I’m trying to genuinely show my gratitude towards such a great group of people. Can’t you see that?” 

Hosuh hid his face in his hands and began laughing against his better judgment.

“Wha- what are you laughing about? This is an _important issue_ ,” the Necromancer started laughing as well, clipping his words, “Screw you. At least I tried keeping a straight face.”

Hosuh couldn’t catch a breath and stop laughing to answer him, prompting more laughter from the Necromancer. Neither really realizing or caring about being seen.

The Necromancer sighed as he finished his laughing fit while Hosuh kept giggling.

“Almost there?”

Hosuh had to take a moment to squint at the street signs, “Uh… Almost. Another block at the most.”

The street they were about to walk on had all it’s streetlights shattered- probably from someone shooting them to create this dark passageway. 

“Definitely a trap,” the Necromancer nodded, he didn’t stop walking into the darkness though. 

Hosuh became immobile for a second to process what the Necromancer said, “But we’re still going in there?”

“While you are a liability in this- I _really_ don’t wanna take the long way.”

_Nothing about this is good_. Hosuh thought to himself.

“We’re just gonna blaze through it. Easy. A little blinded perhaps, but hey- that’s part of the _experience_.” 

“I don’t want that experience.” 

“That’s a shame,” The Necromancer said as he patted Hosuh on the back and walked right into the darkness. 

It was Hosuh’s first instinct to squint his eyes at the darkness. Slowly the Necromancer faded from his sight. So he rushed forward right into the unknown after him.

“Oh. Eager now, are we?” 

Hosuh’s eyes quickly adjusted to the insufficient lighting, “Where else am I supposed to go?”

“You could go back to James’ little sanctuary,” the Necromancer voice sounded further away than Hosuh first heard. 

Hosuh looked around but could barely see his hand in front of his face, “I can’t do that. I wouldn’t do that to Daniel.” 

“Ugh! We’re out on an adventure here, and all you can think about is the part about morals?” The voice came from behind him. 

Hosuh yelped as he jumped a foot in the air. 

“My God- you’re _too_ easy,” the Necromancer chuckled as he walked ahead.

Hosuh took a moment to gain his bearings before keeping up with his purposely loud footsteps. _Wanna avoid that happening again_. 

“You know that phrase with the dogs and cats?” 

“The what?” _More random questions it is, then_. 

“And they’re falling out of the sky, like a fucked up version of _Chicken Little_ -”

“‘It’s raining cats and dogs?” 

“That’s it! Yeah, anyway- If you could make it rain something else what would you make it rain? Maybe knives, cause then no one would have to wash their old ones, and I’d get a new collection straight of out my backyard.” 

Having this conversation in pitch black probably wasn’t ideal for Hosuh… or his anxiety-ridden imagination. 

The Necromancer didn’t really notice the expression on Hosuh’s face, “Or maybe just let the nukes rain now, so we wouldn’t have to anticipate _when_ it will happen- it’d just be happening _now_. But that’s just me- what about you?” 

Hosuh was speechless for a moment, trying to digest what the hell he just heard, “… I’d- uh. Maybe a new phone?”

“That wouldn’t work. They’d shatter on impact.” 

“Uh- I could make like a net or something to catch them?”

The Necromancer sounded amused, “Then use a giant trampoline.”

They reached the end of the dark road; finally Hosuh didn’t have to think about the Necromancer surprise stabbing him… or _anyone_ stabbing them, for that matter. 

The Necromancer pointed ahead to a blue sign telling them the hospital was near, “Damn, that took longer than I thought- seriously, you could create a whole character arc with the amount of time we spent walking here.” 

There were brights lights on top of the large building- their destination a beacon.

Hosuh’s eyes lit up, _Finally. Everything they needed at one stop_. 

“Wow. Not conspicuous in the slightest. Yup- this is _certainly_ safe.”

Hosuh turned toward him, “What do you mean?”

“Don’t you think it’s weird that it’s- I don’t know- so obvious and inviting. It’s gotta be some kind of set-up. All of it smells fishy.”

“You said that about the nightmare street behind us.”

The Necromancer sighed, “Yeah, cause it was. Who doesn’t use that as a perfect ambush?!”

“It does seem suspicious, but do we really have a choice? The hospital will have insulin and Daniel,” Hosuh stared at the hospital apprehensively.

The Necromancer groaned, “Definitely _not_ a way to lure us in…”

Hosuh opted to ignore that and continue walking. The lights getting brighter and brighter- almost urging Hosuh to shield his eyes.

As they approached the commercial entrance, a friendly yet heavily armored man walked up to them, “Hey there! Need some help?” 

Hosuh suddenly felt at ease. Someone actually _hospitable_ during the purge was very much welcomed, “Yes! We’re looking for someone- we were told he was here.” 

The man smiled and nodded, slowly approaching the two of them, “A lot of people come here for safety. He’s probably here- follow me.” 

“Thank you so much!”

The Necromancer gripped at Hosuh’s arm before he could take another step, “Nah, you know what? How about you bring him to us, and some insulin while you’re at it. He can’t be too hard to find. He’s got green hair- like, who’d consciously decide to do that? Freaking _green hair_.” 

“What are you doing?” Hosuh tried to pull his arm away. 

The guard seemed unfazed, “If he is here, he could be injured and in care at the moment, and can’t really make him come here, can we?” The Necromancer didn’t break his skeptical glare from the guard. “It’d be easier for _you_ to find him. We have a lot of people here,” the guard chuckled, “Besides, if you need anything else- we’ll be happy to accommodate you.”

“Yeah, no. How about I just draw the line, like, right there.”

Hosuh frowned at the Necromancer, then turned to the guard, “We really appreciate it,”

Hosuh finally escaped the death grip and took another step toward the guard and through the entrance. 

“When this goes south- I swear I will rain hell down on you,” the Necromancer scowled, but followed behind. 

The guard walked them passed the check-in desk and down the right hallway. They didn’t see anyone like when they had walked into James’ sanctuary, only more guard-like people, and they all watched them intently. 

Hosuh glanced to the Necromancer, but he only stared straight ahead- almost too relaxed rather than how he was before. 

They took more and more turns that Hosuh attempted to keep track of which ways they were being taken- not that it mattered… He had already forgotten the first handful of turns. The hospital hallways began looking the same that it was as if the hallways began to repeat as they walked through.

“Hey, Hosuh. You know what I smell?” 

Hosuh started regretting his choices, “Okay, fine. I don’t like this either.”

They stayed in contemplative silence, following the guard.

The guard stopped in front of a door, “You said your friend has green hair?”

Hosuh nodded, suddenly the guy’s friendly smile had a new meaning.

The guard began unlocking the door.

“So- just wondering, is it, like, a policy to lock up your patients?” The Necromancer crossed his arms.

The guard shook his head, still smiling, “What? No- This?” He was opening the door, “You said you needed insulin… We like to keep any medical drugs away from those who could abuse them. So we keep them locked up. Here, I’ll let you pick.”

Hosuh shifted to try and see in the room, but he was immediately pushed in with full force. He landed on the ground hard, his leg bent in the air. The Necromancer was pushed as well and landed on Hosuh, “Thanks for breaking my fall.” 

“Thanks for breaking my _spine_ ,” Hosuh groaned.

They heard the door slam shut behind them, now they were stuck in a dimly lit room. Not particularly ideal. 

Hosuh lifted his head up to see a few other people in the room. He couldn’t make out distinct features, but his noticed instantly when one of them had green hair.

“Daniel?”

“Hosuh? Hosuh!” Daniel ran over to him.

 _He’s alive. We found him alive_. Hosuh felt so alleviated- his friend wasn’t dead, and that’s all that mattered in the moment.

The Necromancer rolled off of Hosuh, “So we found him. Woohoo,” Hosuh didn’t really think it was possible to sound so void of emotion while saying that.

Hosuh gradually got up while Daniel spoke, “Man, am I glad to see you, but probably not here… What are you doing here?!”

Hosuh forced a chuckle, “Well, about that.” 

“We’re here for _you_ , dipshit,” the Necromancer muffled out from the floor. 

Daniel took a step back, stunned, “You can’t be serious,” He turned to Hosuh, “You got yourselves trapped here for _me_?” 

The Necromancer rolled onto his back, “And plenty of other shit along the way- let’s not get into the details.”

“Wait- Stephen, is that you?”

The Necromancer froze while standing up. 

_Wait, what?_ “Your name is Stephen?!” Hosuh looked back to him wide eyed.

The Necromancer muttered under his breath, finally rose up, and sighed, “What? You think my name is _Stephen?_ You have the wrong guy. Pfft, like I’d have a pussy name like _Stephen_. You’re hilarious.” 

“But I‘ve seen you here and read your file- how you were an acquaintance to multiple patients that I’ve worked with in the past?” 

“Oh, Daniel- I knew you transferred to a new school, but I didn’t know you were going into the medical field, and _You_ ,” Hosuh pointed to the Necromancer, “I didn’t really think of the possibility that you had an actual name,” Hosuh said, but was ignored in favor of the slowly heating argument between Daniel and _Not_ -Stephen. 

“I have never been here in my entire life, so, boom. Can’t be this _Stephen_.” 

“You’re an impressive doppelganger then. You got his hair and voice,” Daniel crossed his arms, with an amused expression. 

“Look, Daniel, I have no idea who you are- I’m just the guy who’s here to save your ass,” _Not_ -Stephen took a step towards Daniel.

“You’re doing a _great_ job, by the way.”

“Like I’d ever go and risk myself for someone _I’ve_ never met before. I don’t trust you.”

Hosuh raised his hand timidly, “I- I know Daniel, I think he’s trustworthy.”

“Shut up, _Hosuh_. No one asked.”

Hosuh became increasingly aware of the audience of prisoners crowding around the scene, but there wasn’t much he could do.

“Stephen, you’re the most reckless person I’ve ever met- you brought _Hosuh_?!”

“Don’t put that on me! I didn’t have to be here- in fact, I’m the one that has to keep him alive or it’s my ass on the line.”

Hosuh no longer payed attention to what they said back and forth- his attention was on the three other people being kept in the same room as him. All of them were seeking refuge in a place that promises the safety and health of others, and they were lied to. Hosuh felt so upset, embarrassed- he didn’t know what it was but he just felt like the biggest idiot for trusting anyone.

What was even going on here? Hosuh decided on asking one of the people stuck in the same situation as him what they knew. 

The first person to say anything was a young woman in a blue nurse’s outfit, “I’m sorry you’re here,” she looked like she was about to sob.

“Do you know why they’re keeping us here? What’s going on?”

The nurse could barely speak, “I thought they were joking, but then I realized too late-” she was shaking now. Hosuh attempted to comfort her, but it didn’t seem like anything could calm her down at this point, “They’re collecting people so they can harvest them.”

“Harvest them? Harvest their what? Bodies?“

“Organs! They’re selling every piece they can!” She sobbed out.

Hosuh was silent for a moment- trying to process it, “... but… but they’re the people who work here? The doctors here?” 

“I told them that and they put me in here. It’s only a matter of time before they take someone else out.”

“Take someone to harvest their…” Hosuh mumbled in disbelief.

“Hosuh! Mind explaining how it was all _your_ idea that landed us in this shithole?!” The Necromancer turned to Hosuh.

Hosuh couldn’t care less about whatever they were fighting about- none of that mattered. They needed to get out as fast as they could. 

“Hosuh, could you back me up here? I thought we talked about this?!”

“They’re gonna harvest us,” Hosuh leaned towards him and whispered. 

“What Hosuh- can’t hear you over _Daniel’s stupidity!_ ” Daniel could be heard shouting an opposing counter to the Necromancer’s ridiculous excuse for an argument.

The Necromancer’s attention was already back on Daniel, so Hosuh moved to stand in between the two of them, “Hey guys-.”

“Shut up, Hosuh!” 

That was the last straw for Hosuh, and he forcibly dragged the Necromancer and Daniel by their arms to the corner of the room farthest from the door. Despite being dragged across the room- they still argued. “Guys, this is really important- could you please be quiet for a second?!”

 

Daniel regained his ability to speak with an inside-voice, “Hosuh, what is it-”

“No! I will not tolerate being ignored. Is water wet? Is Daniel stupid- yes to both of those things!”

“Stephen, would you kindly, please shut the fuck _up_ \- wait how is water _wet_? It’s water!” Daniel swiveled his head and shot _Not_ -Stephen a menacing glare, before looking back at Hosuh, with his mouth open to speak before-

The door to the prison room is slammed open and two armoured guards rushed in, and they grabbed the quiet guy sitting the closest to the door. Everyone is silent, until the nurse started crying out for the guards to let him go, and before anyone could respond- they were gone. The door’s lock clicked autably. 

“What the hell?”

“This is what I was trying to tell you- they are keeping us here to kill us and steal our organs for money.” Hosuh rushed out, exasperated at their antics.

“Dude, I should have thought of this! Imagine the money I’d be making.” Stephen drooled at the thought. 

“Not the time, because we are the ones who drew the short straw.” Daniel facepalmed.

“Might I point out that it was _your_ idea to go along with the nice guard-person in the first place, Hosuh.”

“Guys- let’s not focus on the past, we should try to get out of here before one of us is taken,” Daniel sighed.

“Once we’re out of _this_ ,” The Necromancer pointed a Hosuh, “I swear.” 

“Alright, alright I get it, I’ll get my organs taken by _you_ ,” Hosuh looks around for the nurse, and waved her to them, “We’re gonna find a way out. Would you know how to maybe unlock this room?”

The woman stared at the Necromancer for a second too long before answering, “I had keys to every room in the compound until they took them when they locked me in here. I’m sorry.” 

“Well, suck a dick- guess we’re royally screwed this time.” 

“And I have no idea where we are. I’ve only ever worked in the LTC ward- barely leaving only for surgical demonstrations. So that’s not very helpful,” Daniel looked at them guiltily. 

Hosuh looks to the nurse, “Would you know of the quickest exits?” 

“Oh, yeah. I’ve worked in this ward for almost a year, but most of them are barracated, or heavily guarded by the security staff. I don’t see much chance of escaping if we somehow managed to leave this room.” 

Hosuh nodded, but before he could say anything, the door opened again, and the same two guards came in and started running towards them in their corner.

Before even the Necromancer could respond, they grabbed Hosuh by the shoulders and he was pushed out the door with them. The last thing they saw of Hosuh was his horrified face. 

Hosuh couldn’t even tug his arms- they were so tightly restrained. He was getting dizzy as he looked at the stark walls and fluorescent lights in the hallways. Hosuh could hardly think as he was pushed into an elevator. The guards never made a sound, but they were coordinated in all their movements. _They’ve done this countless times, I’m sure._

They pressed the floor number and the elevator went up way too quickly for Hosuh’s liking. The automatic doors slid open, and he was pushed through and down the left hallway. He could barely keep track of which turns they were taking. _It won’t matter soon anyway…_

Hosuh’s mind rushed to what he could do or if someone could get him out of this, but Daniel and the Necromancer were last arguing about whether water is actually wet or not. _My God- I’m so dead._

Hosuh was then led inside an surgical operation room that was so bright that Hosuh closed eyes. 

“Ah, thank you, fellas,” Hosuh was pushed towards the operation table stationed in the center of the room, surrounded by lighting equipment and various tools, “Oh, and Simon- could you get me a _Doctor Pepper_? I’m absolutely parched.” They strapped Hosuh onto the operation table. Then “Simon” left the room. “And you,” the doctor nodded to the other guard, “You’re not needed at the moment- I’ll let you know when I’m ready for another one,” The guard walked outside the room, never saying a word.

Hosuh stared at the ceiling- the anticipation rising and his heart rate was through the roof. He was _alone_ with the madman.

The doctor clapped his hands, “Ah, you seem much healthier than the last one. Lovely. Are you suffering from any disorders or diseases, genetic or otherwise?”

Hosuh swallowed thickly, _maybe I can distract him long enough for someone to come_ , “I… have…” _think think think- what's popular these days?_ “Cancer?”

The doctor chuckled, “You don’t sound very sure. Where do you have cancer?”

“It’s in… my lungs,” Hosuh forces a bleak cough afterwards.

“Ah, that’s a shame. Lungs are quite valuable, you know?” The doctor hummed, “How long have you had this affliction?”

 _Uh… five years? No, I’d be dead…_ “Three months?” 

“Ah- so it might have already traveled into your bloodstream. Well, what a waste. However, you appear completely unaffected. Not a smoker, nor around smokers from your appearance,” the doctor tapped his chin, “Quite strange.” 

“Oh, uh. Yeah I- used to smoke in high school.” _How is this working at all?_

The doctor sighed, as he began fitting a surgical mask across his face, “Well, I guess I’ll have to survey the damage pretty soon.”

_Oh- Wait Wait Wait!_

The door opened abruptly, and footsteps circled the operation table.

“Ah- Simon. Took you awhile, but thank you.” Hosuh heard the doctor open the can and took a sip.

“Simon” left the room, and Hosuh yet again had to figure out how to keep the doctor entertained, “I don’t know if… if it spread? Maybe- you should run a test or two to see and make sure. You can do that, right?” It was far fetched, but Hosuh was willing to take anything he can get.

The doctor’s eyes smiled down at Hosuh, “Of course. Though what would be the point of that?”

“... Because you’ll… know what to salvage ahead of time? Making the job easier on you…?” 

The doctor shook his head, amused, “Well, that is very considerate of you. I’ve never received helpful suggestions from my patients, before,” He sighed, “It’s always the same- _No please don’t do that! I’m begging you, don’t kill me! I don’t wanna die-_ like, it gets very annoying after awhile, ya’know?”

 _Yeah, like I’d understand what that feels like to murder people for money._ Hosuh nodded. 

“It would save me some time and money, if people weren’t so hysterical- but _you_ though, you’ve been mostly calm, and I appreciate it. What a breath of fresh air- not this room’s inadequate ventilation, but you get the point.”

“Thanks?” 

“You’re welcome,” The doctor walked around the table, examining Hosuh’s figure, “So some tests? It should be easy with your stature.” Hosuh didn’t know if he should feel flattered. The doctor walked back around the table with a stethoscope, “So breath normally for me, I’ll just be listening for abnormalities.” The doctor hiked up Hosuh’s shirt to his collarbones.

 _Why? Why am I still alive?_ Hosuh questions his ability to be alive at this very moment, while the doctor placed the stethoscope head against his chest, swiftly finding his rapid heart beat.

“Well, your BPM is clearly over 100, but that’s to be expected. As for your lungs…” He moved the stethoscope to the right, and he hummed, “Well… isn’t this awkward for you. I don’t seem to hear anything wrong.” 

Hosuh coughed, “Really? That’s strange.”

“Yes, quite out of the ordinary.”

There was pause of silence that Hosuh should have been grateful for, but it was cut short sooner than he’d like. _Every second can count._

The doctor listened closely to the stethoscope again, shifting the head slowly and precisely, “You wouldn’t lie to doctor, now would you?” 

The doctor’s baritone voice reverberated through Hosuh’s spine, sending goosebumps across his skin and causing the hair on his neck to stand on-end.

“You are my favorite one so far. It was fun while it lasted, but I’m on a time limit here- I’m sure you understand. I’m glad we had our little chat, so I can remember you for something else other than your screams.” _Not yet- not yet!_

“But I haven’t even told you about my-” 

“I’m sure I’ll figure it out for myself soon enough,” he reached for the scissors in the collection of tools he had on the table beside him. “But just to let you know, it might get a bit chilly for you pretty soon.”

Hosuh tugged at the restrains to no avail. 

“Oh please, you’ll be making this so much more painful than it needs to be- that’s not even a lie, it’s a true statement,” The doctor began cutting his shirt from the bottom and vertically across his stomach, so that the two halve fall across his arms- exposing his abdomen, “There. Now it can’t get in the way. No way for me to be distracted and poke holes in the wrong places- see how _considerate_ I can be.” 

Hosuh could feel his eyes tearing up and his breath became swallow. _I’m going to be gutted alive. He’s not even going to kill me first- I’m going to feel it all_. 

The doctor place the cold scalpel just below Hosuh’s ribcage, and pressed down.

“Hope this will be as fun for you as it will be for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed, this one took a lot of creating and erasing ideas but it was worth it  
> No idea when the next chapter should be out but we will be working on it :) so don't worry, see you soon  
> Thanks for reading :)


	8. Chapter 8  A Mission, Not in Vain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where were Stephen and Daniel for the last chapter?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updated a lot sooner than we thought XD  
> Hope you enjoy it from a different POV

The door slammed opened and Hosuh was grabbed and dragged out with his horrified face being the last thing they saw.

 _Did that just happen? Did I just see that?_ “No way that just happened,” Stephen had to take a moment to collect himself before turning to Daniel, “They just stole my one ticket to life without James on my tail.” 

Daniel stared at him, not knowing who the hell James is, and unable to respond from watching Hosuh get hauled through the door.

 _He’s not gonna help… That nurse chick!_ Stephen swiveled away from Daniel, and made a bee-lined straight across the cramped room towards the clearly distraught woman.

“Hey- you work here, right? Where are these operations happening?” Stephen noticed that she was too distressed talk, but tried repeating himself. When she did speak, it was incoherent mumbling, “Hey! You there? You hearing me- Is anyone home?!” 

When Daniel finally snapped out of his shock, he quickly followed Stephen and moved to stand between him and the poor nurse, “Shouldn’t we be concerned on getting out?” 

“That’s what I’m doing, but she’s being less than helpful.”

Daniel tried soothing the nurse, and glared at Stephen, “Of course, because she’s really scared right now- we all are,” Daniel looked down at her softly, “Hey, everything will be fine- we _will_ get out of here. But we’re just gonna need some information first, and we’ll start making a plan.” 

She looked between them through teary eyes, and began nodding her head- as if confirming to herself that none of this is a dream, and is indeed real; that this _plan_ these two strangers are proposing could be their last hope to escape this slaughter house.

“You going to cough it up, or are we going to wait until Hosuh becomes some cannibal’s dinner? My God- this is the biggest waste of time-”

She suddenly regained her courage, straightened up- gently shrugging off Daniel, and stood between them, “Before I was locked up here, they offered to recruit me into a position as the surgeon's assistant, and I’d receive a portion of the profits,“ She shuddered at the memory, “I declined- of course, but not before they explained the details. The man responsible for founding this organization is someone I’ve worked with before, the Doctor Felix Zhang, who mostly specializes in-” 

“Not important.” Stephen interrupts, and folds his arms across his chest, “We need the

layout of the building- where the exits are, the elevator,” _Granted that it’s still functioning- we never road in one while being hauled to this cramped prison._

“ _And_ where exactly Hosuh is being taken,” Daniel added.

The nurse took a breath, and released it in an obvious display of frustration, “Alright, so- outside of this room to the right, straight down that hallway- there’s an emergency exit that has regular patrolling of the security staff, and down the other hallway-”

“That’s all great, _but_ we needed to get to Hosuh- like, two minutes ago.” 

“It’s too late for him. Anyone who leaves this room- they go straight to Doctor Zhang.”

“Yeah- no, I’m not taking that as an answer,” Stephen spoke with finality. _There has to be a way._

The nurse gave him an annoyed look, “The longer we’re here- the closer we are to end up like your _friend_.” 

Stephen tapped his foot on the ground, weighing the options. _I guess I’ll have to figure everything out myself._

“Are there any other exits? Like the windows?” Daniel continued to humor the nurse.

“Well, yes. The windows are a viable option, if you can both get past security, and manage to open them- since they have special locking mechanisms. But if you’re on higher floors, a jump will be lethal,” she took a moment to recall, “Ah, and there is also a fire escape on the western side, if you manage to open the extra locks. Doctor Zhang specifically requested a second lock put in place, since they said in a previous Purge that people were escaping through there, after somehow breaking the door down. It was since then reinforced.” 

“This is all superb information, but where is Doctor Zhang working, exactly?” Stephen leaned against the wall, listening carefully with Daniel. 

She sighed, “You can _try_ to save your friend, but…”

“There’s a lot to go up against, Stephen…” Daniel spoke softly.

“Bullshit. Hosuh came all this way to rescue _your_ ass, and you won’t even do the same for him?” 

“It’s not that! It’s the fact that Hosuh could already be dead that’s discouraging- and I doubt he would want us to die in vain.”

Stephen facepalmed, “ _Hosuh_ wouldn’t want to die, period. He was taken literally a second ago- we have plenty time to get him, but not if we waste it all like this,” Stephen faced the nurse, “Where are they taking him?”

“Surgical Operation room 4E, or somewhere in that hallway. I denied them before they could tell me specifically. But to reach that floor, the elevator would be the quickest way, but also the loudest,”

“That’s fine. There won’t be anyone left to hear it,” Stephen promised.

“We could always take the stairs,” Daniel voiced. 

Stephen ignored him, “There’s also little signs along the way, right? Can’t miss 4E, then.”

“Right. Once you make it to the fourth floor, follow the signs pointing towards the ICU. They are brightly colored- you can’t miss them.”

Stephen leaned towards Daniel and stage-whispers, “Whats an ICU?”

Daniel answered just as quietly, “It means Intensive Care Unit, Stephen- I figured you’d know this.” 

_I swear- I don’t care if this is Hosuh’s friend, I am kicking his ass later._ Stephen tilted his head, scrunching his nose, “I figured you wouldn’t get yourself in this dumbass situation.”

They glared at each other for a second, until Daniel broke the spell and looked toward the nurse, “Forth floor, IC Unit, room 4E- need to use _the stairs_ to get there. Got it.”

_Anyways- I finally have enough information to make a semi-decent plan._

Stephen straightened up and began pacing the room, attracting the attention of last two prisoners remaining. Then an epiphany came to him, “Hey! You guys!” He pointed to the two of them loitering in the corner, “You like living, right? Well, I can get us out of here.”

The two moved closer, and started listening intently- taking any chance they could.

“First step includes helping me keep that door open, and the next has us taking out any guards who see step one going down,” He didn’t bother with details- there was no time for that. The sooner they leave the room- the closer they were to getting Hosuh and getting out, “Questions? No? Good.”

They blinked at one another, and unanimously agreed- at least they had something to hope for. 

“Alright- everyone shut up while I get this door open,” Stephen started walking to the locked door.

“Stephen, what are you doing?” Daniel trailed behind him.

“Shh- don’t worry, I got this,” Stephen leaned against the door, “Hey! Anyone out there? This is, like- life threateningly important. You’re gonna lose some valuable merchandise.”

Nothing was heard from the other side, but a moment later, “Yeah, what’s the problem?” The deep voice reverberated through the steal door. 

“Ah. You see, the problem is- I _really_ need to piss.” Stephen spoke casually.

“ _Stephen_ , you can’t be serious,” Daniel whisper-shouted. 

“Shh-shh, Daniel. This is brilliance in the making here,” He leaned back to the door and waited for a reply.

“Ha- Yeah-no. Fuck off.” 

Stephen didn’t waver, “Dude, you don’t understand- There’s gonna be a mess you’ll be stuck with- _you’re_ the one who’s gonna be next to a puddle of piss all damn night. I mean, I wouldn’t want to be standing in that if I were you- I doubt it would come out of your shoes too easily, either.” 

“For fuck’s sake,” the voice on the other side muttered, “You want a damn bucket?”

Stephen looked right at Daniel with a smug grin- not that Daniel could see it with his mask still on, but Stephen just wanted to have his _’I told you so’_ moment.

“Alright guys- be ready to pull that door open when the guy comes in, got it?” Daniel quietly reminded everyone.

“Sure, a bucket would be great- but can I go to the _actual fucking bathroom?_ ” 

“A bedpan’s all you’re getting, dick.”

Stephen glared at the shiny steal as if he could melt a hole right through to _obliterate_ that asshole. _He’s first, then that doctor, and then I’m burning this whole place down._

After a minute, footsteps came back to stand directly in front of the door, “Back of the room,” the voice demanded. 

“Oh- yeah, definitely,” Stephen tried not to laugh while he motioned for the others to stay crouched by the door.

A loud click came from the door and everyone tensed in anticipation. 

Then the door cracked open, releasing a stream of infinitely bright light that filtered through the slit, queuing Stephen to lung for the handle, which then prompted the others to join this intense game of tug-of-war. Colorful profanities could be heard from both sides.

“God, _damn-_ this guy’s strong,” Stephen realized that this guy could easily overpower half of them. _So fucked-_

Daniel threw his foot in the gap, keeping them from losing their progress.

Slowly, the gap got bigger and Stephen was able to clearly see the man they were fighting against. But their accomplishment was short-lived as they had been making such a commotion that second guard came to help keep them shut in.

_Fuck it- guess I’ll have to whip out the big guns._

Everyone was groaning in frustration as the door began closing again. 

Stephen took a risk by quickly sliding one arm back, grabbing a dagger from his jacket’s pocket, and with one swift motion, cut at the guards’ hands gripping the door.

Immediately, the door flung open from the momentum that was built up, though while everyone else fell backwards, Stephen was prepared for the sudden lack of resistance. He moved towards the guards, minding the bedpan laying between the two of them, and readied his fist.

They were still stunned, holding their wounded hands defensively. Stephen took advantage of the chaos, and socked the left one in the face, not waiting to watch if he hit the ground before swinging his dagger at the other, eliciting a sharp yelp.

He got two good slices, one along the arm and the other across the abdomen, before the guard tried backing up, and Stephen ran his dagger through the guy’s throat- putting him down instantly. 

Stephen leaned over, panting from the overexertion. _Damn, I need to work out more._

Then one of the guards lifted his head up and moaned out in pain.

“Dammit- just die already!” Stephen kicked him in the stomach, before leaning down to pick up the bedpan, raising it above his head, and ramming it against his skull twice, before shattering the ceramic.

“Wow… Think he’s dead, Stephen?” Daniel approached the scene, surveying the two guards- one whose face was almost unrecognizable, and the other was completely drenched in blood that still continued to squirt out from his neck.

“Hey- You can never be too sure,” Stephen said as he wiped his bloodied dagger on his jacket, and stowed it away in his pocket once again.

The others slowly came out of the room and Stephen motioned for someone to move the bodies into the room to maybe buy them some time while they escape. _Though with blood painting every surface surrounding the door, I doubt that would matter much, anyway… but hey- it could save them a minute._

Stephen looked up from the massacre, and turned to examine the hallway they’ve been unwillingly residing. They were in the middle, surrounded by other adjacent doors, but what was odd was the dense collection of wheeled tables and cotts holding various supplies and tools that ran parallel to the walls in the center of the hallway.

Daniel walked up to Stephen, and idly picked up a pair of scissors among scattered empty syringes and a stethoscope, “I guess that’s why there was nothing in the room- they must have taken everything out that could help us escape,” he then carefully placed it in his jacket pocket, “You think there’d be other prisoners like us in those rooms?”

“Mmm, maybe-”

“Actually, yes. This entire wing is dedicated to holding all the donators,” The nurse appeared behind them abruptly, followed by the last two survivors. Stephen narrowed his eyes at her. _I guess ‘donator’ is the word used to describe the prisoners stuck in this... fun house._

“Screw them- let’s go get Hosuh-” He took a left and began weaving through the assemblage of strewn-about tables before he was halted by a hand suddenly gripping his shoulder. 

“Stephen, wait- we shouldn’t leave these people to die.” 

“Wha- haven’t you learned _anything_ about me? We _need_ to get to Hosuh, _right now_ \- I don’t give a shit about those people who are, in fact, _not_ Hosuh.” Stephen peered back at Daniel and gave him a look like he grew a third asshole, _right in the center of his face._

A jingling could be heard right behind them, and they turned to the nurse, who had bent down over the guards to acquire the keys used to open the door. “You don’t need to worry about the other prisoners- I’ll stay behind and set them free. I’ll meet you in the IC Unit with the others,” She seemed to have regained her strength. 

“Alright, cool,” Daniel strolled up beside a horribly bloodied Stephen, “And just to be certain, you are _absolutely_ sure about th-” 

“Of course I’m fucking sure, stop asking- now come on, let’s go,” _We’ve wasted enough time as it is._

While Stephen was dragging him down the hall, Daniel turned back, and bidded farewell to the others- wishing them luck, which Stephen ignored in favour of following the signs leading them to the nearest elevator. 

“Okay, Daniel- we’re getting into the thick of it here, so make yourself useful and stick by me, keep your head down, and _shut up_.” 

“Noted,” Daniel muttered, readying his scissors as he did so. Stephen raised an eyebrow at that, but mimicked the movement using his dagger. 

Silently, they proceeded down the hall, taking a right at the T, and discovering an elevator on their left. 

“Oh, thank fuck- it’s right here. We don’t have to search through the entire building hunting for it,” Stephen took a step towards the elevator, before he was once again grabbed on the shoulder by Daniel. 

“Hey- wouldn’t it be quieter if we took the stairs? She said that-”

_He really needs to quit stopping me to ask the most retarded questions._

“Yeah sure- just point me in the direction of the closest flight of stairs- oh? We never saw any signs, so we have no idea _where they are_ ,” Stephen laughed dryly, “Brilliant. Let’s just waste all our time looking for the stupid stairs, when there’s a _perfectly functioning_ elevator right in front of us,” He shrugged Daniel off, and continued his pursuit to the elevator. 

“Stephen- wait!” He whispered frantically. 

“What-” And then they both heard it- a faint pair of footsteps echoed from the other side of the elevator’s hallway, and they are quickly getting louder. 

Without a word, Stephen rushed back into the hallway crowded with wheeled tables, and pushed himself against the wall next to Daniel, allowing them to peek around the edge and evaluate their situation. 

“Shit,” Stephen knew their situation was less than piss-poor, and he had a feeling that Daniel was thinking the same thing. 

“What do we do if the guy comes our way?” Daniel murmured, shifting on the balls of his feet anxiously.

Stephen glanced back at him, and held up his dagger, “We’ll take care of it,” Daniel looked down at his grip on the pair of scissors, and Stephen nodded, “We have the element of surprise at our backs.”

Daniel nodded back, just in time for the security guard to round the corner. 

Stephen tensed at the sudden movement and readied his weapon, but instead the man swiftly turned to face the elevator, pressing the button to call the carriage down to the ground floor.

 _Well, wasn’t that disappointing._ Stephen lowered his weapon, and he heard Daniel sigh in relief.

After a moment, the metal doors slid open, and the guard stepped into the elevator. The click of a button was heard, then the doors slid closed again.

“We need the stairs- there’s too many people on and off that thing,” Daniel whispered to Stephen’s figure, which was already in motion to reach the elevator.

“Yeah- no. I’m taking the elevator to actually get to Hosuh, before he’s hollowed out. There’s _literally_ nothing you can do to stop me now.”

Daniel sputtered in frustration, but reluctantly follows to find him already repeatedly mashing the ‘ground floor’ button. _Stupid thing can’t come down fast enough._

“You don’t have to wait for stairs…” 

Stephen pointedly ignored that comment. _Dick_. 

Eventually, the doors slid open again, revealing the small interior of the carriage. Stephen was the first to enter, and immediately began to mash the 4th floor button as well.

_Running out of time._

Daniel followed, but always being the one to point out the obvious, “What if there’s someone on the other side of the door, right as we get off?”

Stephen rolled his eyes- not that Daniel could see it, “You know that I have a knife for a reason, right?” The doors slipped closed, and the carriage began to rise. 

“Let’s use that as sparingly as we can…” Daniel gave him a concerned look.

Stephen groaned into the wall of the elevator, “ _Fucking hell_ \- you’re just like Hosuh! Man up, bitch. This is the Purge.” 

“It’s not like you _have_ to partake in it. You could, I don’t know- steal a computer?”

“If you’re given an entire day just to murder things- I’m gonna take advantage of that.”

“There’s like a hundred other options?!”

Finally the elevator doors opened, and their conversation was put on hold.

Stephen cautiously peeked his head out, listening for any signs of life. He looked back at Daniel and nodded, confirming that the hallway is safe. 

“4E- the room was 4E, right?” Daniel tredded on Stephen’s heels, as they both walked out into the hallway. 

“Yeah- It’s in the ICU too. And she said that the signs would be colorful…” Stephen looked about the walls, searching for any bright and obnoxious colors that could be used to represent the ICU. 

“Oh, isn’t it that right there?” To their right was the a T intersection, with the farthest wall reading the range of room numbers for the left turn, ‘4A through 4H.’ 

“Ah hell yeah- dude, it shouldn’t be this easy,” Stephen swiftly speed-walked to the intersection, looking down both halls, but stopped short when noise could be heard done the right hall- It looked like a guard was buying a drink from the vending machine. He was probably 20 meters away.

“God dammit, Stephen- you jinxed it,” Daniel whisper-shouted, minding his volume, and followed Stephen to look around the corner. 

“Yeah- I can _see_ that,” Stephen frantically searched for a place to hide while the security guard was still occupied. 

Daniel watched as the guard bent down to pull out a can from the dispenser, slowly rise back up, and begin to walk towards them, “He saw me!” 

“What do you mean- he _obviously_ didn’t see you. Do you see him barreling his way towards us? Shut the fuck up and follow me,” Stephen turned on his heels, quickly walking to the few doors adjacent to the elevator.

Daniel followed, but stood back to observe Stephen trying the locks and coming up with no open doors, “Stephen, this is hopeless- let’s just get back in the elevator-”

The last door opened to a small supply closet, “You were saying?” Daniel could easily tell Stephen was wearing a smug grin.

They both scrambled to fit in the closet, once they realized that the footsteps have almost reached them. The door shut with a quiet click, which sounded way louder in the cramped, dark space.

“If I had a quarter for each time I was in a closet tonight, I’d have fifty cents- which isn’t a lot but _still_.”

Daniel chuckled at that, but they both became silent as the security guard strolled passed their hall. They waited another solid fifteen seconds before even thinking to move. 

“Alright- let’s go get Hosuh. The room should be just down the left hall,” Stephen reached for the handle. 

“Oh- so we’re just going to _leave the closet_ , are we?” Daniel smirked. 

“You cheeky shit,” Stephen playfully punched Daniel in the shoulder, before opening the door, and stepping out. 

They walked down the hall, took a left, and began reading each number labeling the doors as they pass them. 

“Do you think the security guard could come back?” Daniel quickly looked behind them.

“Doubtful. Didn’t you see? He’s on, like a- a snack break.” Stephen stuffed his hands in his pockets, seeming quite relaxed with that statement. 

Then a door opened only a few feet away from them.

“You fucking _jinxed it_ , Daniel.”

“What- how was I supposed to know?!” 

“Don’t know. Don’t care- we're gonna have to fight this guy, so get ready,” Stephen grabbed both of his daggers.

Out the door came the guard from earlier, looking to be in a sour mood, but that changed when he noticed them just standing in the hall. 

“Hello there- just wondering where the _bathrooms_ are, if you don’t mind. Your friends didn’t seem too inclined to tell me.” Stephen began stalking towards him. 

The man was brawley with an impressive height. _Definitely going to take more than a few scrapes to knock him over._

The security guard easily saw through the ploy, and took on a defensive position, preparing to counter Stephen’s bladed weapons. 

Daniel just stayed in place, raising his scissors in defence. _Yeah, that’s very useful, Daniel._

There wasn’t a verbal response from the man. “Oh? You’re one of them silent anime types, huh? Don’t worry- we’ll be hearing you scream soon enough,” Stephen waited to make a move, but the guard narrowed his eyes, and kept his ground, “Gonna make me shead first blood? I see how it is, but unfortunately for you, I actually know what I’m doing.”

Stephen coiled his arm back and flung the knife into the guard’s abdomen. _Holy shit. Bullseye._

The man immediately bent forward and groaned, spilling blood at his feet, and giving Stephen easy access to his carotid arteries, which _that_ opportunity did not go to waste.

Stephen leaped forward, and plunged the dagger straight into the guard’s skull. His knife somehow withstanded the dense bone with a sickening crunch, causing his body to go limp and fall on Stephen’s shoes. 

“Damn… I just got these. Do you know how hard it is to find my size? Fuck.”

Daniel stood still from behind, “Stephen… how did you-?”

Stephen wrenched his dagger out of the guard’s skull, leaned down, and then slid the other out from his stomach, “Quickly and efficiently. What kind of question is that?” 

“I-” Daniel stared at Stephen for a moment, but resigned to question it later, “What was the room number again?” 

“4E- That should be right-” Before Stephen could answer Daniel, a blood-curdling scream resounded from the door the guard had left from.  
Stephen didn’t waste another second and bolted for the room with Daniel on his tail. Stephen stood at the door, twisted his body and raised his leg, preparing to kick the door down. _Hold in there Hosuh- we’re coming for you_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay a quick update- those are _always_ nice and yeah... We're pretty evil authors... Guess chapter 9 will have the answers to what really happens next  
> Hope y'all enjoyed, we really loved your comments in the last chapter XD those were so much fun to read thank you all so much, we can't wait to see you for the next chapter- hopefully not _as_ cliffhanger-like XD  
> Thanks for reading :)


	9. Chapter 9  The Mind’s Defence Can Be a Quite Bizarre Experience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They are on their way... they just took longer than you thought

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for being patient with us on this chapter- it took way longer than either of us thought it would, but I’m sure you can see that we’re writing a bit differently this time around. We’ve been rewriting the previous chapters to make them sound more like this one- with more descriptions and depth. It will take awhile for us to completely rewrite all of them, and we hope it’s worth the wait in the end :D The next chapters will take longer to put out as well, as you can tell with this chapter- but hopefully you will still keep us tabbed. Expect them to be out ranging from one to two weeks now, but rest assured that we are working on them and won’t just quit on you this far into it- with my co-author and all of you cheering us on, we feel obligated to continue writing- and we are happy to meet your fanfic needs ;) Hope you enjoy!

The doctor’s scalpel began piercing the skin right under Hosuh’s ribcage and while he tried, he couldn’t keep himself from shrieking. Tears rolled down the sides of his face as he felt the small blade slowly sink deeper into him. It didn’t matter that he tugged at the bonds at his wrists- they wouldn’t budge. Why couldn’t the doctor just stab him in the heart and get it over with? _Why did I open the door? Why did I actually think I would be saving someone when I opened my apartment door? Why was I so stupid to come along to this mission, I knew I wasn’t capable of it, and I went to be some kind of hero, didn’t I? Just like he said…_ His own thoughts soon devolved into sobs that closely represented how much agony the blade slicing him open was causing. 

Everything was over stimulating and it was happening too fast, too much- and he could feel _everything_. The cut was purposely slow and excruciating, surely fueling the sadistic doctor’s depravity that could only be itched once a year without consequence. The scalpel started sloping to the left and right, like he was carving a picture into Hosuh’s stomach to create a tattoo made of scar tissue. _Granted he’d survive long enough to heal._

The doctor began giggling then, causing his hand to wobble the scalpel and carelessly cut at Hosuh, which elicited an especially piercing screech, “Keep going,” he had to speak up to be heard over Hosuh’s screams, “It’s absolutely amusing- truly. Instant gratification.” He paused, even stopped his unsteady hand from carving Hosuh more and sighed, “Would you prefer a sticker or a lollipop? You’ve been so good- a good patient should always be rewarded. Well, if you’re good and continue your _sensational melody_ there, I’ll consider giving you both. Sound fair? I think so.”

Hosuh soon dissolved into hysteria, shaking his entire body and causing the scalpel to nick and scrape erratically across his abdomen. He couldn’t stop laughing, couldn't _think_ \- all he could feel was the agonizing pain, the blood leaving his body to pool and drip to the tile floor, and the cold, unyielding blade granting no chance of escape from this torture.

  

Hosuh was becoming light headed, and the doctor’s face and ceiling began twisting into blurs of color and light. _Is this what it feels like to die? To die of blood loss?_

Hosuh tried blinking away the drowsy feeling- no matter how painful this was, he knew that if he fell unconscious, he wouldn’t wake up again. He tried looking back into memories or friends- anything to keep him awake and ignore the doctor’s painfully messy incisions. He had to stay _awake_. 

This isn't a controlled surgery with a simple anesthetic sleep to wake up from, this is raw and pure insanity- an insanity that is becoming more and more appealing to Hosuh’s addled mind. He knows that it won’t be long before he is too far gone to be saved- he will give up and stop resisting the invitation that urged him to let go, losing himself in the beautiful dark abis. The threshold is not to far now, surely, and if he were patient, the pain will cease and he would be free. 

His thoughts flitted across his mind, his friends, his parents, his school- how stressful it was. So many familiar faces, assignments he’d never complete… All of it was useless in the end- redundant.

The doctor’s voice was dwindling from his descriptions of how much a pleasure Hosuh was but he was disappearing and the intense fluorescent lights were dimming. It was as if a movie was about to begin, and his vision began darkening at the edges. Incoherent mumbling slowly filled his mind, as if he was surrounded by people. Another second, and the surgical operation room was nearly replaced with…

He shook his head, as if attempting to rid himself of the voices crowding his ears. And it was at that moment, the doctor decided to carve a particularly agonizing slice to the right of Hosuh’s belly button, scaring the voices away, “Those before you- they were nothing next to you, but not even _you_ can control your excitement. Everyone dissolves into the same creature- the same emotion. Down to the intrinsic necessities, we all want the same thing- we want to cause destruction. I’m sure you’ve heard this before- that everything we build will be reduced to nothing more than dust in the wind. We cause entropy here on Earth, because it’s human nature, so I’m sure you can understand where I’m coming from when I say- _sweet dreams_ ,” The last of his words faded away.

The pain became a dull throbbing in the background, allowing the voices to crowd him again and drown out the clinks and drips of his blood staining the floor. He’s almost grateful for the relative silence instead of listening to his own screams. The ceiling lights rose up as the room was growing bigger now, and Hosuh tried shaking his head again because his eyes must have been playing tricks on him. There were more people now, some beside him and in front of him, but no one seemed perturbed, and they all kept talking. He lifted his head up, and squinted through the white light. He was... in a lecture. _Wait. I’m here. I’m not…? Did I wake up? Is it tomorrow? Was it all just a dream?_

He sat in the back row of tables on the right side, overlooking the boring, beige lecture room, but glanced down at his stomach for some reason, like he expected something terrible to be there. But- when did he get up and go to class? What class was this? He looked around the room, it was familiar, but at the same time not? At the front of the room were blurry posters featuring silhouettes of the human body, along with several anatomical models displayed below the projector screen. _Anatomy- I must be in an Anatomy lecture…_

A tall woman with her strawberry-blonde hair in a bun stood behind a podium at the front of the room. Hosuh didn’t really recognize her, but he waved it off for a future problem- he chose to listen first and then worry about details later.

She smiled to the room, before looking down at a collection of notes and papers organized on the podium, “Good morning class- I hope that quiz yesterday wasn’t too challenging,” She looked up again to see a few students flounder under her gaze, “because it shouldn’t have been if everybody read the text and studied the PowerPoint,” Her eyes narrowed, and she seemed to pointedly stare at a student a few rows down from Hosuh. The air was still for a moment, but she dispelled the unnerving silence and perked up in sudden thought, “Oh- here’s a morbid thought: did y’all know that you could be worth more dead than alive right now?” Her voice was unassuming, but her way of opening a lecture was something Hosuh hadn’t heard before. She clapped her hands together, “Just think- your lungs can range to almost three hundred thousand dollars on the market- healthy lungs of course.” 

_She’s quite… cheerful for such a topic._

She moved her hands animatedly as she spoke, and as he hesitantly glanced around the room, the other students didn’t appear as unsettled as Hosuh felt. “And that’s not all,” she grinned, “A pair of eyes- sight itself seems to possess a price as well. About a thousand-five hundred dollars actually. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’d raise the price if I couldn’t watch Netflix anymore.”

A few chuckles rang through the high ceilings, and echoed back down, causing the laughter to multiply and reverberate down Hosuh’s spine. _The laughter surrounded me like the mumbling voices, when I was in the hospital, when I was being-_

_Don’t think about it._

“Reviewing the heart- notes everyone,” she said as she picked up a small remote and turned on a projector which displayed a slideshow of lecture notes on the board, “New topic coming up next week- how cancer affects the lungs,” when she said that she stared directly at Hosuh. But despite the smile, Hosuh felt that she had a sinister look to her- an intense déjà vu sensation was telling him that look was familiar, “Notes, please.”

It took a second for him to register that that last remark was directed at him and he immediately looked to his right for his bag. _I forgot my bag? I never forget my-_

The room suddenly grew cold and he felt disoriented- like a blood rush from standing too fast. The room looked wrong for a second- a place that was painfully burned into his memory, before flickering back into his classroom. _Don’t. Think about it._ He shook his head and blinked several times- and there was his bag sat on the floor against his leg, just like normal. _Oh, I… I must have not seen it._

He pulled out his purple binder and payed attention- he didn’t need her to look at him like that again if he was just late on instructions. 

She looked back down at her papers, and began the lecture, “Like we started covering in last week’s class, the heart’s conduction system functions as the pacemaker of the heart,” She clicked the remote and a diagram appeared on the screen exhibiting a coronal plane view of the heart with labels pointing out major terms and regions relevant to the lecture’s main topic. She then turned to face the screen, and held the remote in her hand casually, “As you can see, the sinoatrial node is located in the superior left atria,” She then used the laser pointer in the remote to gesture to the left atria, and point to the SA node in the diagram.

Hosuh diligently drew a rough sketch of the image, writing the necessary notes to the side for additional information. And while the professor was droning on about Purkinje fibers, he found himself doodling at the bottom of the page of his notes. At first it was the simple circle, but soon his vision blurred, though he could still feel his hand gliding across the paper. He blinked, but his sight didn’t become any less obscure. He looked back up at the professor who continued to drone on but it was like cotton balls have found their way into Hosuh’s ears, and he couldn’t hear her clearly anymore. 

He gave up trying to listen to the lecture, and looked down at his hand to see its progress. To his surprise, the drawings look quite professional and polished, but the images themselves were the most puzzling. The most detailed one looked to be a sort of skull-print mask with messy hair poking out from behind, and the other was also a mask, but much more blank and mundane. _I feel like… I know those people- kinda? Or these pictures? Because they never took off the masks? Wait, but who never took off their-_

A thunderous bang reverberated through the lecture hall from the entrance. He jumped in his seat and swivel around to focus on the door like everyone else seemed to be doing. Even the professor paused her lecture and glared at the entrance. 

Whoever was the other side groaned and Hosuh felt inclined to get the door but was glued in place, not only from fear, but a physical incapability to move in his seat. His legs refused to budge in the place under the table, and his arms remain clutched to his chest. He could not turn away from the door- it was as if he was expecting something- someone to come through that door. Voices shouted on the other side and Housh tried inching towards it. 

The professor spoke from behind her podium, but her voice- it wasn’t like it was before, “I’m a little busy at the moment!” Hosuh turned around to see her, but her face had contorted to something that didn’t fit her. The room began to flicker again, and the mumbling voices returned with a vengeance. Another blink and the professor wasn’t her anymore- he had a surgical mask and held a bright red scalpel. Hosuh felt himself retch. _It wasn’t a dream. But he was still stuck in this nightmare._

Hosuh glanced back down at the drawings, but immediately perked his head towards the door when another loud bang vibrated the floor beneath him. 

_That’s right, we came for Daniel. We… The masked one… Are they…?_

The unassuming classroom dream-scape began falling apart at the seams, revealing a more sinister location that Hosuh is far too familiar with.

The pain hit him harder than the last time- tensing all his muscles in a full-body spasm that shook the portable operation table on its chocked wheels, causing the doctor to lean away in surprise, and smear the pools of blood clots across the floor in an unceremonious squeak. 

The doctor was yelling something but the mumbling voices reached a panicked crescendo that attempted to compete with the doctor’s increasing volume, creating a cacophony of deafening noise that Hosuh was too disoriented to try understanding. Muffled shouting was heard in the general direction of the only exit in this hellhole, and Hosuh weakly turned his head and faced the door. It seemed as though the doctor was pissed by the sudden interruption, since he rather aggressively dug the blunt end of the scalpel through the already-made incisions, eliciting the quick-fire response he wanted, and causing another pound at the door to sound through the room. The doctor yelled back as he marched to the door, leaving Hosuh to wonder in his relative silence if anything was real anymore. 

He stood at the door, hand on the handle, and spoke through the door, but Hosuh couldn’t hear a word. _Too bad I never learned to read lips._

But it didn’t seem to matter, because he opened the door slowly, revealing what Hosuh thought was impossible. 

His two heros stood motionless for a second- completely horrified at the sight before them- and for good reason, too. Hosuh could still hear the dripping of blood in the short silence, but gave them a weak smile that strained to keep shape. The damage didn’t matter- they came for him and he wasn’t going to die. He blinked away the last remnants of his hallucinations, and attempted to take in the operating room once again. The lights blinded him and the burning he felt at his abdomen bloomed to its full intensity all over again, making him want to cry out in anguish, yet he laughed. 

He laughed because he was sure as hell getting out of there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes- another cliffhanger. We don’t know how that keeps happening, but we’re not sorry! >=D Hopefully Hosuh will finally be rescued in the next chapter. Stay tuned ;D


	10. Chapter 10  The Easiest Way is Often the Simplest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel thinking through some shits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for waiting so patiently. We’re sure you can tell, this chapter took us longer than normal. We’ve been busy with our own lives, especially with the end of the school year getting close. During the summer, we plan on having a quicker posting schedule, so you have that to look forward to, I guess =D 
> 
> Side note: chapters 1-2 have been updated with our new and improved style, and we’re still in the process of rewriting chapter 3, which should be finished sometime in between the posting of the next chapter.

The day started off like any other day- except it was the month of the infamous, anxiety-inducing, annual Purge night. Even though this holiday was put into practice seven years ago, Daniel still wasn’t prepared for the horrors that came with the tradition. Sure, he would barricade his house, but there was always the possibility that someone could inevitably find their way in if they really wanted to. And it’s for that reason does he carry a 911 in a stiff hand with extra 9mm cartridges in his back pocket. Granted, he’d never gotten the chance to actually _use_ the gun- but instead relished in the insurance that it provides against the manic thoughts foreboding the worst-case scenario. 

The first couple of years had him hiding underneath his bed like a child, kept awake all night by the creaking of his apartment settling- _supposedly_. He doesn’t want to think about what his neighbors could be doing tonight.

After the initial integration of this proposed economic solution, the shock factor has begun dwindling, and he’d found himself lying _in_ his bed, instead of beneath it, willing his eyes open with mindless scrolling of the internet. Most of the time, nothing occurred to disturb him in his apartment complex, but there was the occasional scream through the streets below that filtered through his locked windows- snapping his head to look out at the moonlit sky between the gap in the curtains.

Daniel never even considered leaving his relatively safe-haven for any reason, until he got a call from the local hospital he interns for. 

He was still skeptical about his answer, even after a week of weighing his options, “As you know, the aftermath of the Purge yields many injured patients- more than we can treat at a time in this establishment. Meetings have been held, and we’ve come up with a plan to lighten the workload for the following morning. It would be greatly appreciated if you could be present during the Purge, to help us care for victims,” She paused, expecting a reply, but he was silent, “We’ll include pay- $100 by the hour, regardless of your intern status.”

That last offer still nagged at him, even when he politely requested for time to think it over. Money is tight regarding his family, and this would be an opportunity to aid in his academic finances. 

However, he would have to diverge from his strict, defensive routine and risk his life for others- something he hasn’t put much thought to before now. In fact, it baffles him to think the hospital would put so much effort into diverging from their set own schedules to save injured stragglers on the sides of streets of their own volition, when they can just suck it up and deal with the morning rush- especially when they are offering him so much hourly just to _be_ there. 

Even so, the thought of helping people pushed him to pursue his career path to begin with, so what kind of person would he be if he didn’t jump at the chance? 

It was March 20th, the eve of the Purge as Daniel leaned over his phone sat innocently on the counter, disregarding his incessant stares in favor of blankly reflecting his bedraggled hair and dark eye bags to spite him. In the next moment, he hesitantly lifted it in one hand, causing the phone to automatically light up in a cheerful display of his recent notifications- all ignored since the call. He let his muscle memory take over, unlocking his phone and pulling up the list of recents, before his finger hovered over the _call_ button. 

_There’s still time to turn back- still a chance to guarantee another year alive rather than pawning your life to chance and wind up dead in the process._

He bit his lip.

_But isn’t this what I’ve always wanted, deep down? Being given the chance to save people instead of only saving myself?_

His finger tapped the screen, initiating the call.

After two rings, they answered.

“I’ve decided that I’ll be there tomorrow.”

He came to regret his decision upon first arriving the next evening. 

 

***

 

There was a loud bang, punctuated by a sharp hiss through his teeth. 

“ _Fucking hell_. That hurts like a _bitch_.”

Daniel slowly opened his eyes to see Stephen standing on one leg, while he hugs his other to his chest in pain- subtly hopping in place to keep his balance in a pain dance. Daniel just stared in disbelief, “What the hell are you doing?”

Stephen growled in frustration, “Shut up, Daniel-”

“I’m a little busy at the moment!” A voice from the other side of the offending door bellowed.

Daniel’s mind raced through their few options available. If the _brilliant_ idea of kicking the door down didn’t work, then they would have to think of something different. It seems like there could be multiple entrances to this operation room, which would make sense considering that branching supply rooms would likely provide those alternate entrances, given that this room is an operation room in this ward, and would require easy access to abundant supplies and materials during surgery. However, it didn’t look like they would have the time to find a different place of entry- let alone be able to bust through that one either. But at the same time, there is always the possibility of more security personnel on the other side to burst through the door, tackle Stephen and Daniel to the ground and return them to their holding cell to end up like Hosuh- wait, would Hosuh still be alive at this point? There was definitely a scream, but nothing else echoed through the halls, reaffirming their fears. The pounding of his heart has never been so apparent as he gripped his pair of scissors with both hands, pointed at the door.

Daniel sucked in a breath, and steeled his nerves for whatever was going to happen next-

“What does it take for a guy to find a fucking bathroom where someone _isn’t_ being murdered?” Daniel snapped his head toward Stephen, who was currently leaning against the door frame, brandishing one of his twin daggers. _What the fuck-_

“What the _hell_ , Stephen! You already _did_ this bit,” Daniel whisper-shouted, “What makes you think this will-”

“Shh- shh, Daniel- I got this,” Stephen looked back at him, crookedly smiling, “It worked last time, didn’t it? Stop doubting me and shut up.”

The voice was muffled through the door, but it was as clear as day, “Whoever you are, I don’t appreciate the interruption, and neither does my… _beloved acquaintance_. But my patience isn’t limitless, unlike my authority, and I have a feeling you’re going to regret the decisions that led you to this point,” The response was curt, but the shallow manic undertones were painfully apparent, and Daniel’s mind faltered with a shiver up his spine. _I can only imagine what Hosuh’s been going through with this creep._

Daniel was pulled from his thoughts from the sudden silence following the doctor’s rather provocative declaration. Even Stephen was at a loss for words, but quickly regained his wits with his fist pounding the door, “You know what else is limitless? Not my tolerance for bullshit.”

Daniel blankly stared off- wondering how this guy survived for so long with such a penchant for poking the proverbial sleeping bear, “Are you physically incapable of being rational in any given situation?” 

“Are you physically capable of not being a little bitch?”

“Stephen, we need to stop joking around- this is our _lives_ on the line.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Stephen swiveled his head at Daniel, scowling, “We’re trying to save Hosuh, if you weren’t paying attention. And I have every intention to get us all out of here _alive._ ”

“And you think that by making fucking _wisecracks_ is going to save us?”

“There isn’t a day in my life where being a smartass hasn’t helped me,” Stephen stared back at Daniel blankly, but looked past him down the hall, “Besides, I haven’t seen you try to get the door open.”

Daniel gawked at him, “I thought we were going to convince him to open the door, so we wouldn’t have to break it down ourselves?”

“You know what? I’d think it’d be more _efficient_ for you to _shut the fuck up-_ ”

It was at that moment the door cracked opened, and an irritated eye peered out to glare at their antics, “For a little discrete rescue mission such as this- It’s as if neither of you know what the _fuck_ you’re doing- especially considering the door was unlocked this entire time.”

The statement hung in the air as it slowly donned on Daniel. He tilted his head to Stephen, but couldn’t get anything coherent past his lips before letting a small snicker quickly grow into a full stomach-aching laugh. _All of this excessive drama for nothing._ “You didn’t even think to try the lock before you just _kicked_ the door?” Daniel had to take some time to ridicule this dumbass, “Your first thought wasn’t the doorknob but to _kick the door_ for flare.” 

“What can I say? I have a knack for the theatrics.”

“ _That’s not an excuse-_ ”

In the next second, Stephen took the opportunity to kick the door a second time- which yielded actual results. With the door being cracked open courtesy of the doctor, the door swung open, knocking the man back into the rolling tool station, spilling sterile equipment and materials across the tile floor. This gave them both a great view of the room, with red blood painting the white interior, leading their eyes to the star in the spotlight.

Hosuh seemed barely conscious, laying strapped to the medical cot in the center of the room. His stomach has taken the brunt of the blade, spilling blood down the sides of his abdomen to pool in the divot made by the weight of his body, only then did it drip to the floor. Smears can be seen, along with many shoe-prints walking about the room. 

The doctor scrambled to his feet and grabbed anything within arms length, wielding a scalpel in his left and a bone saw in his right.

Stephen gawked at the scene before him, momentarily dazed, before snapping his attention to the doctor, who’s now on his feet and armed, “You know what? Fuck you. It was my job to torture Hosuh.”

Daniel had a second to comprehend the situation before Stephen fucking _launched_ himself at the guy, leaving no time for hesitation. 

_God-fucking-dammit, Stephen._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daniel: cunfoozled boi  
> Daniel: ur a fucking idiot stephen  
> Stephen: no u baka
> 
> \-- next chapter --
> 
> Stephen: imma kill u  
> Doctor: no u  
> Daniel: wtf imma get hosuh  
> Hosuh: X-X  
> Stephen: Fucc 
> 
> Top Ten Anime Fight Scenes 2019


	11. Chapter 11 Trimming the Hedges

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Top 10 anime fight scenes 2019

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies, updates will continue to be inconsistent. Still working though :D

Stephen moved lightning fast, light on his feet as he poised his dual daggers for attack. With the doctor now on his feet, he tensed before they met steel to steel, the bonesaw deflecting Stephen’s blades while keeping the scalpel prepared to strike. Daniel swore he could see sparks fly with the force of the collision, but just as quickly as they met, they propelled away from each other like the same poles in a magnet. In the next moment, they both seemed to weave between each other in an intricate dance, as if they were testing the waters on their combat abilities, attempting to predict who could win this fight. Suddenly, they both took a defensive stance; surprisingly enough, Stephen seemed a lot more cautious and wary than he was with any of the previously encountered personal.  


Daniel stood in the doorway a moment longer to survey the empty hallway behind him before taking a step through the precipice, slowly scooting along the left wall of the room furthest of the stagnant battlefield. He inched across the wall while watching Stephen and the doctor examine each other. Daniel glanced back and forth between Hosuh and the rapidly approaching corner of the room. If Stephen was going to be a distraction for him to get Hosuh, then Daniel would have to go as unnoticed as possible to the doctor. Slow and cautious of their movements was the way to go, though it would eat up time. _Hopefully Stephen can handle himself long enough to buy me that time._

He peered back at Hosuh’s unconscious state, halfway there before a sharp _shing_ slice through the cramped operation room. Daniel immediately snapped his head back to the right, expecting the worst case scenario: the scalpel slashing across Stephen’s stomach, cutting through the flesh like a hot knife through butter. Blood oozes out of the incision, along with soft pink intestines protruding from his dark jacket before spilling out and sliding down his lean figure. The twin daggers left forgotten on the sterile floor, and he slowly turned to Daniel, within his eyes a look of pure disbelief before his innards spattered against his shoes- **  
**

His imagination ran wild before his eyes finally focused on the scene before him. Stephen was, to his relief, not mortally injured, but was instead actively blocking the doctor's relentless attacks. He used his daggers as shields to deflect the rather large scalpel, though from the looks of it, he’s making no attempt to strike back. _Not that the doctor is giving him much of a chance in the first place._  


Then suddenly, the doctor shifted his focus over Stephen's shoulder, staring directly at Daniel with a glint in his eye. Dread grew heavenly in his stomach as he saw Stephen take notice of the doctor's shift in attention, tensing his stance with his daggers held in front of him defensively.  


Without warning, the doctor stepped forward and raised his arm holding the bonesaw above his head, before cutting through the air in a large, exaggerated arch causing Stephen to jump backwards to avoid the serrated blade. But also in doing so, allowed the doctor to have a good eight feet of distance between them. Stephen was practically standing within arm’s reach of Daniel, leaving him sandwiched between the wall without a good view of the doctor’s movements. Daniel looked over Stephen’s shoulder, trying to gauge the doctor’s next move now that they have a lot of space between them.  


“Stephen-”  


He didn’t have time to react as he watched the doctor pull his other arm back and with great force and precision, launched his scalpel at his target- rather more importantly, at _Daniel’s face_.  


He squeezed his eyes shut in an instant response. _There’s not enough time to move-_ his mind yelled unhelpfully as he braced for the feeling of the scalpel impaling his eye socket.  


_Crunch._  


Daniel snapped his eyes opened to abrupt and unexpected sound, only to receive an eye-full of Stephen’s hooded back blocking his view of the doctor. He must have jumped in front of Daniel to block the steel arrow; the worst came to his mind as Stephen stood completely still. Daniel bet that if Stephen turned around now, the scalpel would be sticking out of his eye, the steel lodged so deep into his skull not even half of the handle is visible. Blood pouring out of the wound and spilling over his mask to fall across his chest- not making any noticeable mark on the black hoodie. His other eye would look back at Daniel, the life draining from him from the brain trauma.  


Once Stephen did turn around, the scalpel stuck out of his mask right above his left eye-hole comically, not even an inch of the blade embedded into the bloodied skull-print.  


Daniel was relieved to see Stephen unharmed, but couldn’t muster the words to ask how, why, or what the fuck Stephen was thinking when he decided to _jump in front of a lethal projectile._  


But before he could come up with anything, Stephen josled his head slightly- dislodging the scalpel from his mask before falling right into his left hand, while his right held the dual daggers meticulously. Daniel looked up at his mask, spying a noticeable divot in the material, but then Stephen him gave a subtle cheeky wink.  


His fear for Stephen’s life was quickly overpowered by relief that he’s fine- and if that wink meant anything, he seems like he knows what he’s doing, even though all logic contradicts his actions. _Like, why the hell would he- why does his plan include almost mutilating himself- Why am I never in the loop of what’s going on?_  


Daniel stared at Stephen in blank confusion, trying to convey that an explanation would be most appreciated, but the doctor cursed under his breath, drawing their attention to the man stood on the other side of the room. He seemed disappointed that his dart didn’t land on the mark, but he quickly recovered with a smirk, raising his saw intimidatingly.  


Stephen turned back to Daniel quickly, noticing the doctor’s quick advances. With the hand still cradling the scalpel, he jerked his thumb toward the medical cot, obviously referring to Hosuh before swiveling on his heels to face the doctor.  


_Right- Hosuh first, questions later._  


The silence was almost jarring in this situation, but Daniel didn’t take two steps before the doctor brought down the saw onto Stephen’s crossed blades, noticing that the scalpel was tucked away into his pants pocket. He continued to awkwardly shuffled his way across the wall, only a couple of steps from reaching the bloody cot. He gripped onto his scissors tighter once he had to start stepping around the bloody footprints littering the linoleum flooring.  


Stephen expertly dodged his way around the doctor, but made sure to put up a fight to some degree so the doctor wouldn’t have the chance to get the drop on Daniel again.  


Taking in a deep breath, he forced himself to face Hosuh vulnerable form. He took shaky steps as he tried not to flinch at the loud _clangs_ and _shings_ of steel- or any discouraging thoughts as to what it would sound like if the blades weren’t blocked at the last second. Step by step, he focused on the floor beneath his feet, slowly approaching Hosuh’s seemingly lifeless body on the operation table. _Please be alive- please be alive-_  


Now finally at an arm’s length, Daniel nearly felt the urge to revel in the small victory of reaching his destination, but the strong smell of curdled blood and iron kept his mind on his task. In _any_ other situation involving blood and viscera, he would be fine- but this was his friend laying there half dead. He was close enough to see his chest quiver with the softest of breaths, his eyes flutter open without seeing anything before closing again.  


With another few strides, he put himself between the wall and Hosuh’s cot, giving him a great view of the fight and the only exit to the room.  


He looked down at Hosuh again, staring at the gentle rise and fall of Hosuh’s torso. His head followed Daniel as he eclipsed the cot, trying to lift his head up and open his mouth but Daniel shushed him, “Hey, we got you.” Daniel immediately began cutting at the straps that held Hosuh down on the table, but he wouldn’t stop squirming, “I’m gonna need you to hold still for a second, okay?”  


An especially loud clang resounded through the room, making Daniel pause for a moment and look up at the fight’s progress.  


“And I thought this would be a challenge. Didn’t realize I’d be fighting a fucking pussy.”  


The doctor’s eyebrow twitched, “Under the circumstances, I’ve been shockingly nice. Looks like it’s high time to kick things up a notch.”  


“Oooh~ I’m so scared! What’re you gonna do with that puny saw, Doc? Trim the shrubbery?”  


There was a pause, then the doctor hummed and took a few steps back before completely turning around, his back facing Stephen. He approached a small supply closet built into the right wall of the room, opened the clear-glass doors and began rummaging through the contents. As if the world paused for this one man, Daniel and Stephen glanced at each other for a brief moment before looking back at the doctor incredulously.  


The doctor seemingly found whatever he was looking for and straightened himself, letting out an uncharacteristically soft chuckle, “Perhaps,” He turned on his heel whilst keeping what he had hidden from both Daniel and Stephen, “you wouldn’t mind a little trim yourself then, Stephen?”  


Daniel looked back to Stephen, who seemed to tense up to the sound of his name.  


The doctor dramatically pulled from behind his back an _electric_ bonesaw- his thumb hovering over the power button before pressing down, pointer finger pulling back the trigger, whirling the saw’s blades to life in all its menacing glory.  


Daniel swiveled his head back and forth from his task at hand and paying attention to what was going down between the doctor and Stephen. He had to do a double take, staring at Stephen’s tense and still form, having yet to rebuttal against the doctor’s jibe.  


_Well damn, I guess the real fight’s finally begun._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw Daniel is an over-dramatic weirdo in this fic
> 
> Bm: hey so let's work  
> Beit: but i got infinity essays to finish  
> Bm: lol sucks to be you  
> Beit: …  
> Bm: but seriously we haven’t posted for three weeks  
> Beit: _lol sucks to be you_  
>  ^Our work schedule in a nutshell ;-;
> 
> Oh, and Tumblr is a thing that i [ have.](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/burningmattresss) reblogging is the name, staying relevant is the game.


	12. Chapter 12  Security is the Priority

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So Stephen does some stuff and things, those stuff and things don't always work out fully, no, sometimes those stuff and things becomes a flaming garbage turd in the end, but you know, it be like that sometimes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the longest goddamn wait in the fic’s history. We were both swamped in month-long trips and summer homework. Thanks for your patience, hopefully this chapter isn’t too much of a disappointment. Thank you for all the wonderful comments and goodnight <3

_Fuck- fuck- fucking bullshit!_ Stephen felt a shiver go up his spine, but he refused to show any sign of weakness. His usual way of handling things flew out the window when he came up dry with no comebacks and one-liners. The right words didn’t seem to show up. Besides, it’s not like he could _think_ with this creep up his ass and knowing his name like that. _But it’s certainly not the time to worry about it._  


He racked his brain for anything to say, but if he were being honest with himself, it was clear that his time to say anything has passed and, consequently, would look ridiculous if he said anything now. And to be even more honest, the only solution now was absolutely homicide. He refused to let anyone make a fool of him and live.  


He clutched his twin daggers, whitening his knuckles, as he debated what tactics to use that would be unique enough to catch him off guard. He couldn’t afford to be predictable.  


The doctor stood several paces away, which could give either the advantage or disadvantage because they both have time to formulate game plans to outsmart the other. Stephen is the shield in this equation, since the enemy has proven skilled in both close-quarters and ranged combat, Daniel will be vulnerable while tending to Hosuh.  


Which is why he began subtly inching toward the medical cot while keeping his attention on Dr. _Whatever-the-fuck-his-name-was._ Stephen snaked his left hand behind his back to reach for where he believed the cot should be, so he can keep his eyes on the doctor.  


“You get off on this, you sick fuck?” Stephen attempted to jibe at the doctor to distract himself from the itching panic at the back of his conscious. He knew he wasn’t at an advantage by any means of the definition- especially with his healing wounds from the brawling arena earlier that night. The most he can do now is defend Daniel and Hosuh’s escapade towards the door out of this god-forsaken room.  


The electric saw calmed its roar, allowing for the doctor’s vapid misgreivence to echo against the walls, “Mmm quite. But it’s interesting, isn't it? The way you speak, the way you stand- hold yourself tall. I can see that what is inside of you is also what is inside me.”  


“Look, man. I’m really not into the kinky shit-”  


“The fear that you harbor, it’s for the poor boy, is it not? He’s quite a piece of work- _beautifully_ crafted as the perfect canvas.”  


“What the fuck-”  


“I can see that you feel for him, in one way or another, and I can sympathize with that. Although I’m afraid that he may not wake up to see what he’s become, and I regret having been interrupted from completing it.”  


The doctor was slowly advancing on Stephen throughout his whole spiel, the existence of the polished blades of the saw inching closer was doing a number on Stephen’s nerves.  


“Now that I recall, I may have even punctured as deep as the peritoneum, leaving his organs exposed,” he mockingly placed his hand to his chin, tapping his cheek. His eyes crinkled with mirth.  


This was _not_ going well. Nope. Not one bit-  


_Wait. Wait a goddamn minute. Did he just say “leave his organs exposed”?_  


Now that’s something that he understands crystal clear. _Fuck_.  


The more he ponders the reality of Hosuh- _not another one fuck. Fuck!_ Just like all the other fucking times where everything went to shit and nothing ever seemed to go according to plan. This wasn’t supposed to happen. _If only Hosuh listened to me in the first place, if only he followed the simplest of instructions-_  


The doctor’s eyes look past Stephen, a pensive look in his crazed eyes, “That’s quite a bit of blood, you know, he really was a favorite of mine- I can see why you have taken a liking to him, what a shame… Oh, there goes the liver,” the doctor’s eyes widened, “Quite the waste don’t you think?”  


Stephen froze on the spot, the urge to turn and look was overwhelming. He wasn’t hurt that badly was he? Trying to recall Hosuh’s injuries conjures fuzzy images of cut flesh and oozing blood. This brings back memories that he’d rather keep in the black pit of his unconscious. All the blood, everywhere. On his hands, his face, his eyes. He couldn’t escape it. He _still_ can’t escape it. The chaos never ends. It wasn’t his fault. _It wasn’t his fault-_  


His panicked thoughts blind him from his common sense, the only thing bringing him back to the present was the thought of what could be behind him, taunting him, mocking him, _begging him_ to turn around and face the reality. A reality of Hosuh _dying before my eyes-_  


Stephen’s head turned involuntarily, his torso following to turn his back to the doctor and face the carnage waiting for him.  


...except what he sees is-  


“Don’t-” Daniel was the embodiment of panicked desperation at that moment, his voice the loudest thing in his ears. One hand was reaching for Stephen, while the other was supporting Hosuh’s limp body slung over his shoulder. His words were drowned out by the revving saw blade rapidly approaching at a faster pace than Stephen was anticipating, making his stomach drop with morbid comprehension. There never was the wet splat of an organ hitting the floor- Daniel never deemed him dead, and he’s apparently a certified doctor or some shit.  


And now, the saw is coming toward him with his back turned, with a few measly layers of cloth protecting him from it _tearing into his flesh, reducing his bones to shards, and ripping holes into his-_  


Before he could madly scramble to face the doctor, he was already on him, slamming him against the bed, colliding his skull with the metal gripping bar eclipsing the bed frame and rendering him momentarily concussed.  


His knives clanged against the floor before his body, giving him a second to brace himself before he struck the solid tiles, rocking him with a reverberation that shook his entire being. The only thing keeping him upright was the unextended side rails of the cot he was leaning against. As he came to, a relentless ringing filled his ears, and his eyes refused to focus. The brightness of the room caused him to squint, and it took him a moment to realize that his view isn’t restricted to the small holes through his mask. Groaning, he blinked down at the bloodied floor and saw his mask was lying next to his slackened body, the inside facing up with the ribbons reaching toward him. It was almost like his mask was telling him to pick it back up, to put it back over his face, to conceal his identity. You know what happens when people know your face. You _know_ what they will do to your friends, your family. Remember last time? Do you want that to happen? _Put the fucking mask on-_  


His shaking hand timidly reached out, skirting across the tiles to retrieve his mask- and he was an inch away before he was violently propelled from his position on the floor and thrust on top of the medical cot, causing the wheels to squeak and slip across the bloody linoleum. He was forced to lie on his back across the cot perpendicularly with his legs hanging off the edge, shoes barely touching the floor.  


Only one thought consumed him, making him writhe with anxiety. The mask was still there, tormenting him with threats of pain and torture. He has to- he _needs to get his mask-_  


Hands held him down from his attempts to rise from his back-breaking position, but his efforts were in vain.  


Everything was too loud, it was getting to quiet. The light shining down blinded him, making him feel like a specimen to be observed, to be tested. He was still being constricted to this brick of a bed, the saw getting louder.  


“Give it back. Give it back. _Give it back-_ ”  


His lips won’t stop moving, the frustration was worming around in his stomach, and he could feel a stinging in his eyes. Everything was welling over- he couldn’t reach his mask, no security, unsafe. It was- it was- everything was falling apart. No plans, no attacks, no jokes, no- without the mask what was he?  


“ _Stephen!_ There’s no time to fool around!”  


The voice penetrated the thick fog clouding his mind, awakening his crippled sense of rationality. His eyes began to focus on his surroundings, and a vague recollection of his predicament started coming back to him. He could feel an entire body pressing down on him, legs locking his dangling ankles together, and could feel the warm, humid breath on his neck-  


His heart skipped a beat.  


_Oh shit- fucking dick balls. I need to get the fuck outta here._  


He started squirming harder than ever, trying to get out of this terribly compromising position. The breath was coming harder, dampening Stephen’s nape and causing goosebumps to spread down his arms. The voice was in his ear, a shiver ran down his spine, “Oh, the things I will do to that pretty little face of yours, seeing as you cherish it so…”  


_Holy fuck. Daniel fucking do something, anything. Oh my God. This is how I die. Holy shit I haven't been to a church in fucking ages-_  


“Hey!” Stephen craned his head backwards, staring at Daniel incredulously,  


“Dr. Nassar, wanna stop molesting the patients? Go back to prison where you belong!” 

_...I’m pretty sure that’s not his name but okay sure._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stephen: dan, dan, dan, be a bitch and grab my mask for me  
> Daniel: stephen, stephen, stephen, fuck you, get your own goddamn mask lil pussy  
> Hosuh: XvX  
> Doctor: lmao ur friend ded and ur face cute  
> Stephen: u a pedo dude??  
> Doctor: but ur like. 20 or some shit rite?  
> Stephen: im 11 so shut the fuck up

**Author's Note:**

> yeet


End file.
